Large print guide

Wall quote:

Claudius Terentianus ... a soldier of the legion.

Trajan's column, dating from AD 113, is the foremost surviving monument to Roman military might. A spiral storybook over 200 metres long, it presents thousands of generically depicted Roman soldiers. This exhibition draws out the thoughts and experiences of one real soldier in emperor Trajan's service – Claudius Terentianus.

Image caption:

On the column Trajan's (ruled AD 98–117) conquest of Dacia (modern-day Romania) unfolds. Here, soldiers gather before their tented camp to listen to the emperor's address. Unusually, one soldier faces us.

© National Museum of Romanian History

Horrible Histories text:

I'm Claudius Terrattus, and I'm thinking of joining the Roman army. Want to come along? We'll get the inside track on all the foul facts and savage stories of those rotten Roman soldiers. Let's go... keep up!

Human remains statement:

Visitors are advised that this exhibition contains human remains. If you would like to know more, please ask a member of staff.

Human remains in the British Museum

The study of human remains provides a unique insight into the lives of people from the past. The British Museum is committed to curating human remains with care, respect and dignity. Find out more about our principles governing the holding, display, care and study of human remains on the Museum website:
britishmuseum.org/humanremains

Exhibition introduction panel, to right of entrance: 
Legion: life in the Roman army

Rome owed its vast empire to military might. Its dominance arose from a deeply militarised society where every male of noble birth was a part-time soldier, but it endured by creating an army of professional commoners. Citizen-soldiers like Claudius Terentianus could expect a substantial pension upon retirement. By promising citizenship to those without it, Rome's war machine also became an engine for creating citizens, offering a better life for soldiers who survived their service.

Horrible Histories text:

Psst! Never mind that – my bit's much better...

Central display case: 
Emperor Augustus

Rome's first emperor, Augustus (63 BC – AD 14), ruled over at least 60 million people, but barely 20% were Roman citizens. He created the empire's first full-time career soldiers. Some 150,000 male citizens made up the core of his army, with an equal number of non-citizens to bolster the ranks. This head from a larger-than-life statue of Augustus was erected in Claudius Terentianus's homeland, Egypt, newly-conquered since 30 BC. Later torn down and buried beyond the imperial frontier, it symbolises resistance to Roman rule, and the need for a dependable military force to guard the empire's far-flung borders.

Bronze, calcite, glass and plaster
Sudan (ancient Meroë), northeast Africa, 
27–25 BC
British Museum, 1911,0901.1

Horrible Histories panel on right wall:

Me again. It's a big decision, joining the army. I'm not a Roman citizen so I'll have to join the auxiliaries with their second-rate weapons and rubbish pay. Pfft. I wish I could be a legionary like those Roman citizens...

Maybe HALF of all the soldiers in the Roman army live long enough to retire. I've heard more die from diseases than fighting.

Anyway, if I survive, I can earn citizenship – then I'll pay less tax and get all the extra benefits they do ... in 25 years. Better brush up on my Latin. 

Right, best paw forward. Off I go to join the ranks.

Graphic panel opposite: 
The structure of a Roman legion

Object labels to right of archway, right to left: 
Service and reward

Under Augustus's successors, non-citizens gained citizen rights after 25 to 26 years' military service. This is the earliest known example of a retirement 'diploma'. It records emperor Claudius's grant of citizenship to Sparticus Dipscurtus, a Thracian (modern-day southeast Europe) who served far from home as a marine at Misenum, in the Bay of Naples, Italy. Citizenship of Rome extended to his wife and children.

Copper alloy
Castellammare di Stabia (near Naples), Italy
AD 52
MiC – Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

A family business

The benefits of a military career passed down the family line. Once a father earned citizenship, his sons, armed with good references, could also seek to join the elite legions. This memorial possibly shows a father, flanked by his sons. They each hold armour-piercing javelins and carry long shields – signs of their legionary status.

Sandstone
Croy Hill fort, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
Mid-AD 100s
On loan courtesy of National Museums Scotland

Horrible Histories text:

Impressive. This auxiliary has a flashy tombstone. Looks like he really saved his cash to splash. I wonder if I'll earn as much as him.

I overheard that I'll have to get up really early to scout ahead of everyone else and clear the way for the other soldiers.

But first: I've got to get in.

Auxiliaries

Auxiliaries were the regiments intended for non-citizen troops to support the citizen legions. Firmus Ecconis died aged 36 while serving as an auxiliary foot soldier, armed with a simple thrusting spear and oval shield. He earned less than a legionary but still flaunts his accumulated wealth with this impressive tombstone featuring Fuscus, the enslaved child (left) and Firmus' son (right). Instead of money, retiring auxiliaries were awarded valuable Roman citizenship. Had Firmus lived, both he and his son would have benefitted.

Limestone
Andernach, Germany
AD 1–100
LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn

Object labels to left of archway, right to left:
Horrible Histories text:

Look at him. Only five years in and he's dead. Even with all that fancy gear the legionaries get. That javelin won't help him now though, will it? If he'd only managed another 20 years, he'd have had tons of denarii (Roman money) to spend.

Oh, well. If I have to go into battle, I reckon I'll try to stay at the back. I'll see if I can pinch some nicer weapons from a dead enemy while I'm there.

Legionaries

Quintus Petilius Secundus from Milan, Italy, served for five years before dying in Germany on the Rhine frontier, aged 25. As a citizen Petilius was able to enjoy the better pay and status afforded to a legionary. Here he holds a pilum (javelin) – essential kit for a legionary infantryman (foot soldier). Had the young man survived, retirement offered a pension worth a decade's pay.

Limestone
Bonn, Germany
AD 39–70
LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn

Section panel, through archway, on left wall:
Joining the army

Regular pay and social status proved attractive incentives for potential new recruits to the Roman army. For non-citizens the reward of Roman citizenship offered social transformation, the benefits that came with living under the full protection of Roman law, and opportunities for ones' descendants.

Free (unenslaved) people from all over the empire enlisted. Serving alongside men from unfamiliar cultures, soldiers were often posted far from home to places unknown to them. A Roman citizen from Egypt, Terentianus probably never actually saw Rome. His native tongue was Greek, but he also spoke Latin. Training was hard. From route-march to weapons-drill, new recruits were pushed to their limit.

Map caption:

Map showing the Roman empire at its largest expanse in AD 117, and the general disposition of the legions as described by Roman author Cassius Dio, around AD 200. About 300,000 troops were stationed across an empire of some 60 million. Terentianus served under emperors Trajan (ruled AD 98–117) and Hadrian (ruled AD 117–138).

Introducing Claudius Terentianus

A papyrus archive found at Karanis, Egypt, provides a window into the experiences of one soldier serving in emperor Trajan's army. In several letters home, Terentianus recounts his failed initial attempt to join the legions in about AD 110. Although a Roman citizen, he lacked satisfactory references. On the rebound he joined the poorer-paid marines. Longing for transfer, he wrote home for supplies, struggled to fit in with his comrades and was injured suppressing a revolt. He was also deployed east – probably for Trajan's war with Rome's rival superpower, the Parthian empire. Eventually though, he achieved his goal, becoming a legionary.

Follow Terentianus's career through the exhibition.

Wall quote:

I was ordered to take the oath...

Audio quote:

I beg you, father, if it meets with your approval, to send me from there military sandals and a pair of felt socks. Sandals with buttons are worthless, I provide myself with footgear twice a month... I was ordered to take the oath.

Panel on plinth, at left of display case:
Enlistment

Recruits faced strict requirements. They had to be at least 172 cm (5 feet and 7 inches) tall, meaning that even some boys as young as thirteen qualified. The normal upper age limit for enlistment was thirty-five. Letters of recommendation were a must. After failing to join the legions, Terentianus gained entry to the less-prestigious marines using references from two friends already in the service. New soldiers could back out until they took an oath, after which the only way to leave the army was by medical discharge, eventual retirement, dishonour – or death.

Object labels, left to right:
Good references

Whatever their background, every potential recruit needed a letter of recommendation. A poor reference forced Terentianus to serve as a humble marine before eventually becoming a legionary. Here, another hopeful tries their luck. Addressed to commander Flavius Cerialis, it was written in support of a candidate for a position at Carlisle: 'Brigionus has requested me, my lord, to recommend him to you...'.

Wood
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England
About AD 100
British Museum, 1980,0303.22

Horrible Histories text:

There's no way you're getting into the Roman army without somebody to vouch for you. Even if you're a citizen and want to be a legionary, you need a letter of recommendation from someone seriously important. A note from a friend won't get you into the legions ... unless you've got friends in high places.

So who are you going to get to write yours? What will they say about you to get you in? It had better be good.

Regular pay

A steady income was a big draw for recruits. Soldiers received regular pay, including expenses for their journey to join up. Wages had to cover purchases of arms, armour and other equipment, and troops were encouraged to open savings accounts. This purse buried at a fort contains 27 silver coins (denarii) – over a month's pay for a legionary. Terentianus remarked of army life: '...nothing can be done without money...'.

Bronze and silver
Birdoswald fort, Cumbria, England
After AD 122
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust

Recruits

The army kept detailed lists of new soldiers. This list (left) records six recruits to an infantry cohort of auxiliaries based in Egypt, enrolled by administrative officer Avidius Arrian. Included for each soldier is their name, age and any distinctive physical details – one has a mark on his eyebrow, another on his left hand and a third on his forehead. Another list (right) details new recruits, promotions, losses and absentees for a combined infantry and cavalry auxiliary cohort, also based
in Egypt.

Papyrus
Left: Al-Bahnasa (ancient Oxyrhynchus), Egypt, after AD 103
Right: Egypt, AD 105–6
The British Library

Image caption:

This scene from the Arch of Trajan in Benevento, southern Italy, shows a recruit before the emperor. He stands rigid – with fear or to make himself as tall as possible – as the measuring frame is brought to check he qualifies.

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Roman roads

The empire's network of roads connected lands, peoples and military outposts. Travel was an essential part of soldiering. Troops faced hard labour building and maintaining roads. This milestone declares 'eight miles to Kanovium [Conwy, north Wales]...'. It was erected one year before emperor Hadrian visited Britain in AD 122, probably part of an effort to present him with a well-maintained infrastructure. 

Stone
Llanfairfechan, Wales
AD 120–1
British Museum, 1883,0725.1

Image caption:

Aerial photograph of the Via Nova Traiana
(emperor Trajan's new road) in Jordan. Soldiers
marched countless miles through unfamiliar lands.

© Courtesy of APAAME. Photo by Don Boyer

By land, by sea

Mastery of the Mediterranean Sea that the empire encircled allowed Romans to use this, and navigable rivers, for transporting goods and people. Soldiers covering vast distances to reach new postings could also take ship. However, travel by boat was often perilous. The bronze fitting with the head of the goddess Minerva is from the prow of a warship scrapped after the great sea battle of Actium in 31 BC. The lamp fragment shows Roman marines aboard such a warship, ready to fight at sea.

Ship fitting: bronze
Preveza, Greece, about 31 BC
British Museum, 1872,1214.1

Lamp: terracotta, Faiyum, Egypt, AD 1–100
British Museum, 1926,0930.54

Introducing Apion

The letters of another Egyptian marine who lived during the AD 100s have survived. Apion, a non-citizen, joined the lowly auxiliary service. His letters home recount his distant posting to the Bay of Naples in Italy via a turbulent sea crossing. Although at his basic rank he had no rights to a married life, Apion started an 'unofficial' family. He was also ambitious, and knew that his ability to read and write offered a path to promotion.

© Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Photo: Sandra Steiß, P 7950

A military family

Apion writes to his father and sister, telling them of his wife, Aufidia, and son, Maximus. Apion also adopted the Roman name Antonius Maximus, and writes that he is sending home a portrait of himself.

It may have looked like these paintings made to cover the wrappings of Romano-Egyptian mummies. Paired on grounds of style, it is unknown if they are siblings or spouses. Despite their refined appearance and her fine jewellery, the orientation of his sword suggests he is a soldier of low rank.

Wood, pigment and gold leaf
Kom el-Kharaba el-Kebir (ancient Rubaiyat), Egypt
AD 100–200
Left: Lent by the Provost and Fellows of Eton College
Right: British Museum, 1939,0324.211

Panel on plinth, at left of display case:
Fitting in – and getting fit to fight

A new life in barracks meant getting along with people who were often from very different places and backgrounds. Terentianus did not find this easy, even complaining that one comrade paid no more attention to him 'than [to] a [toilet] sponge on a stick.' New recruits also faced gruelling basic training.

First, and most important to master, was marching in step at two speeds. Extended monthly route marches, manoeuvres and manual labour helped to develop strength. Weapons drill with heavy practice arms improved stamina. Even foot soldiers were taught swimming and horse riding.

Object labels, left to right:
Recruiting the locals

Rome recruited heavily from the edges of its empire, creating a multicultural and multi-ethnic fighting force. Terentianus volunteered, but some peoples were so sought after for their skills that Rome actively conscripted them. This figure of a rider has a distinctive hairstyle and dress also seen on North African horsemen fighting for Rome on Trajan's column. His eyes are inlaid with silver, lending them a lifelike quality.

Bronze and silver
London, England
AD 43–410
British Museum, 1856,0701.19

'Wretched Britons'

Roman prejudices about the fighting spirit of some different ethnic groups are evidenced in this tablet describing the fighting habits of the Britons, who are disparagingly called Brittunculi ('wretched Britons'). It is possibly a memorandum, assessing their recruitment potential: '...Britons are unprotected by armour. There are very many cavalry. The cavalry do not use swords nor do the wretched little Brits mount in order to throw javelins.'

Wood
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England
AD 85–150
British Museum, 1986,1001.34

Military melting pot

Recruits as well as whole regiments drawn from one part of the empire could be stationed somewhere completely different. This tombstone records that Nectovelius, son of Vindex, died aged 29.

A Brigantian from northern England, he servednine years in the 2nd cohort of Thracians. Originally recruited from southeast Europe, the regiment was subsequently stationed in Britain, where locals like Nectovelius were then recruited to bolster the ranks.

Stone
Mumrills fort, Falkirk, Scotland
AD 140–65
On loan courtesy of National Museums Scotland

Protection of assets

New soldiers needing kitting out, but had to purchase their own uniform and equipment. Rather than having to buy what he termed a 'battle sword', Terentianus was lucky to be sent one from home. It was probably a foot soldier's short sword, about half a metre long, and held in a scabbard stiffened with wooden stays. Such a scabbard was encased in a leather outer sheath, like this rare survival from the military fort at Vindolanda near Hadrian's Wall.

Leather
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England
AD 85–410
Vindolanda Trust

Dressing the part

Terentianus saved money by sending home for gear. He recounts receiving a tunic and felt socks. These examples from Egypt, made hundreds of years later, show how little Roman clothing basics – common to soldier and civilian alike – changed over time. The sleeveless tunic was worn gathered with a belt. The traditional dark stripes are reminiscent of those on the soldier's painted wooden portrait displayed to the left. The red woollen sock has a split toe for flipflop-style sandals.

Tunic: linen and wool
Egypt, AD 400–600
British Museum, 1990,0612.110

Sock: wool
Egypt, AD 200–500
British Museum, 1901,0314.35

Sensible shoes

Marching was fundamental to soldiering, so footwear needed to be practical and hardwearing. This leather sandal and boot are rare survivals. The hobnails (metal studs) helped the soles to grip rough ground and withstand long marches. Leather strips could break and rub, but Terentianus quickly found laces preferable to buttons. He wore socks with his sandals and needed to replace his footwear twice monthly. When marines wanted a shoe allowance due to constant marching between Rome and the Bay of Naples, emperor Vespasian famously issued an order for them to march barefoot.

Sandal: leather and iron
London, England, AD 43–410
British Museum, 1856,0701.1006.a

Boot: leather and iron
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England, AD 85–410
Vindolanda Trust

Image caption:

Soldiers march, struggling with their heavy kit. Packs weighed around 27 kg and shields at least 5.5 kg. A centurion dismounts from his horse to thrash an out-of-step soldier.

© akg-images / Peter Connolly

Target practice

Soldiers trained in close and distance combat, wielding wooden weapons and trading blows against wooden posts and targets. Practice weapons were intentionally heavier to strengthen muscles and could be used against a simple post, while missile weapons needed larger targets. The distinctive square holes in the ox skull were made by artillery bolts. The human-shape wooden target was reused as flooring after damage to the 'shoulder', possibly from military training – leaving subsequent scars to be made by hobnailed boots.

Target and sword: wood
Carlisle, Cumbria, England, AD 72–83
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust

Animal bone
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England, AD 85–410
Vindolanda Trust

Image caption:

Coin showing soldiers fighting with whip and stave. When training they sparred with blunt weapons to avoid serious accidents.

© The Trustees of the British Museum

Swearing the oath

After basic training, recruits took the sacramentum – depicted on this coin. The oath marked their full commitment to 25 years' military service. An oath-breaker was considered cursed, but the legal repercussions were even more serious. Military law was enforced through a strict penal code that meant beating or even execution for those who broke their bond.

Medical discharge, retirement or death in service were the only honourable means of escape.

Gold
Rome, Italy
225–212 BC
British Museum, 1867,0101.580

Image caption:

Oath-taking scene with soldiers placing swords on a sacrificial piglet. Oath-takers swore to endure: 'Through burning, imprisonment or death by the sword'.

© The Trustees of the British Museum

Horrible Histories text:

It worked!

I wasn't sure I'd be tall enough, but I'm a Roman soldier now. Auxiliary Terrattus at your service.

I'm meeting new friends from all over the Roman empire too. There are battles in Europe, Asia and Africa.

We need fighters from across the empire – that's why non-citizens like me are allowed in. They need all the help they can get.

Only 25 years to go and I'll get that citizenship. Watch out, world!

They put me through my paces to join. And the training is TOUGH. Think you've got what it takes?

Check your height and try to lift the weight. How's your marching? When you've finished the other tasks quick march to the next section of the exhibition, starting... NOW!

Section panel, on left wall:
Ranks and roles

Once sworn in, a discontented soldier's only option was to seek a different role within the ranks. The right social connections could aid transfer to better-paid regiments, such as cavalry or the citizen-exclusive legions. Terentianus reflected bitterly on the need to save up money and find letters of recommendation – strings needed pulling and palms greasing to finally transfer to a legion.

Promotion was another possibility, usually with a fifty-per-cent pay rise or double basic pay. Only the most able or well-connected soldiers could hope to become centurions. Non-citizen soldiers could also rise through the ranks, but were never paid as much as their citizen counterparts. The promoted needed to read and write orders. In a largely illiterate time, troops who could write home understood that this was the most lucrative skill of all.

Wall quote:

If god should will it, I hope to live frugally and to be transferred to a cohort.

Audio quote:

If god should will it, I hope to live frugally and to be transferred to a cohort. Here, however, nothing can be done without money, nor will letters of recommendation be of any use, unless a man helps himself.

Panel on plinth:
Marines

In terms of military hierarchy, marines seemed to be at the bottom of the ladder. Like all auxiliary regiments, recruitment was open to non-citizens, but citizens could also join, perhaps on the rebound if – like Terentianus – their references were found lacking for the legions. Shipborne marines faced hazardous sea travel and extra chores on land, for the lowliest wages of a basic auxiliary soldier. Shore labouring included roadbuilding and guarding Rome's grain fleet harbours. More dramatic duties involved policing cities, firefighting and disaster search and rescue. Terentianus hated being a marine, yearning even for transfer to a land-based auxiliary force.

Object labels, left to right:
The Herculaneum soldier

In AD 79 Vesuvius erupted, destroying the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing thousands of people. Among the bodies of beach evacuees at Herculaneum was a Roman soldier, who was likely helping people to safety. 

Perhaps a marine from the nearby naval base, this man was over 35 when he died and likely nearing the end of his service. At 172 cm, he was around the minimum height for army recruitment. Evidence of heavy musculature on his bones hints at an active life.

Human bone
Herculaneum, Italy
AD 79
Ministero della Cultura – Parco Archeologico di Ercolano

Image caption:

Excavations in the 1980s revealed over 300 skeletons of victims who failed to escape the eruption. Many more were blasted into the sea. Most of the women, children and the elderly sheltered in the towns' arched storage vaults.

© Dariya Maksimova | Dreamstime.com Photo 192022998

Tools of the trade

The soldier died wearing two belts, one for his sword (worn on his right), another for a dagger, and a purse of coins. He wore no armour for his peacetime mission. Belts were the main distinguishing item of a Roman soldier's uniform. The leather was fronted with ornate silvered bronze plates and draped with an apron of straps. This soldier was also a carpentry specialist with a set of tools in his satchel.

Iron, bronze, gold, animal bone, horn, silver, glass and leather
Herculaneum, Italy
AD 79
Ministero della Cultura – Parco Archeologico di Ercolano

Bread and circuses: guarding the grain supplies

Marines guarded Rome's grain supply, shipped from Egypt to the Bay of Naples and ports at the mouth of the river Tiber, near Rome. As a marine, Terentianus was based in Alexandria, at the start of the supply chain. This medallion (left) shows emperor Commodus standing by a lighthouse to welcome the grain fleets. It highlights the importance of maintaining the capital's food supply. The restless people of Rome were famously pacified with free 'bread and circuses'.

Brass and copper
Rome, Italy
AD 191
British Museum, 1865,0606.1

Bread and circuses: working at the Colosseum

Marines shaded amphitheatre spectators from the hot sun by unfurling sail-like awnings. The awning masts of Rome's Colosseum are just visible on the coin (right), which also shows a gladiator contest. Emperors sought popularity by staging (and in the case of the emperor Commodus, even participating in) gladiatorial combats at the Colosseum. When Commodus, depicted here in marble with curly hair and beard, faced a riotous Colosseum crowd, he commanded his military stagehands to slaughter them.

Coin: copper alloy
Rome, Italy, AD 223
British Museum, 1867,0101.2119

Bust: marble
Probably Rome, Italy, about AD 185–90
British Museum, 1864,1021.9

Image caption:

The fine detail on the coin depicting Rome's Colosseum includes the masts for its awnings, which stick out from the top of the building.

© The Trustees of the British Museum

Graphic panel:
Ranks and pay in the Roman army

Roles, responsibilities and pay of soldiers at the time of Terentianus's service, under emperor Trajan (ruled AD 98–117).

Object label:
A literate soldier

Soldiers like Terentianus who could write home understood they had an essential skill, which provided opportunities for promotion. The inscription on this soldier's tombstone has been lost, but depicted holding a tablet or scroll, he was keen to show that he too could read. He wears the usual everyday military attire – tunic, cloak, sandals and military belts with sword and dagger.

Stone
Mainz-Weisenau, Germany
AD 1–100
GDKE - Directorate Landesmuseum Mainz

Panel on plinth:
Promotion: standard bearers

Standard bearers earned double the pay of ordinary soldiers. In return, they had to be numerate to keep the men's pay accounts and brave enough to lead the troops into battle. Each century had its own standard, with further specialist insignia carried at the head of the regiment, but a legion's eagle standard was revered above all others. Losing the eagle to the enemy was an almost unimaginable disgrace and recovering it a political priority. Roman standards were richly decorated, considered sacred and carefully guarded.

Object labels, left to right:
Carrying the standard

Pintaius Pedilici was an auxiliary from Iberia (Spain and Portugal) and a standard bearer (signifier) in the 5th Asturian cohort. He died on the Rhine frontier aged 30, after seven years' service. Here his rank is distinguished by his animal pelt hood and standard adorned with roundels and other decorations. He wears a short tunic and his belts hold a sword and dagger.

Stone
Bonn, Germany
AD 31–70
LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn

Image caption:

Distinguished by their lion or bear hoods, standard bearers lead marching soldiers. The eagle standard is next to a banner-like flag (vexillum).

© National Museum of Romanian History

Marching with the emperor

A specialist standard bearer, the imaginifer carried the image of the emperor at the head of the regiment. Genialis Clusiodi was an imaginifer of the 7th cohort of Raetians (an Alpine people) who died aged 35. His standard is topped with a bust of an emperor, perhaps Claudius or Nero. He holds a scroll, and an animal pelt hood is draped around his neck.

Stone
Mainz, Germany
AD 41–68
GDKE - Directorate Landesmuseum Mainz

Horrible Histories text:

Now I've finished my training I'm thinking about my ambitions. I've got my sights set on being a standard bearer. It's better pay. 

Double in fact. I'll need to be brave to lead the troops into battle. Standard bearers also keep track of soldier's pay. I'm useless at adding up though, so it's probably a no-go.

Being a cavalry-rat is out too – I keep falling off the horses. I think it's because my legs are too short.

For an ordinary little ratlet like me, not born a Roman citizen, being a foot soldier is the best I can hope for unless I learn to read and write.

You look clever. Are you brave too? Maybe you could be a standard bearer. Which mascot would you choose to lead everyone into battle?

Choose your favourite and stand proudly alongside it. On second thoughts – rather you than me.

Display case to left of Horrible Histories activity,
object labels left to right:
Instruments of war

Trumpeters relayed the centurion's orders over the din of marching and battle. Cornicines played the most important instrument – a long, curled horn called a cornu. They instructed the commander's intentions, including the movement of the standards, which soldiers then followed. Starts and stops were signalled by a shorter straight horn, or tuba. Here, a little rodent trumpeter covers his ear as he plays his tuba – perhaps it was too loud.

Cornu: brass
Pompeii, Italy, AD 79
MiC – Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Figurine: copper alloy
Findspot unknown, AD 43–410
British Museum, 1824,0498.59

Horrible Histories text:

If you want to keep out of the action being a trumpeter is the job for you – you get to stand at the back.

The trumpet's the most important musical instrument in the Roman army.

The standards follow the trumpet's toots and us soldiers march behind the standard. Right into battle.

Why don't you have a go? Make a trumpet with your hands and see if you can get your grown-ups to follow your lead.

Image caption:

Trumpeters were the extension of the centurion's vocal commands. Like standard bearers (who presented visual commands) they also wore fierce animal pelt hoods.

© National Museum of Romanian History

Setting the standard

As well as being rallying points, standards were proud symbols of regimental identity. Decorative roundels and depictions of military awards showcased the prowess, success or loyalty of the troops. Animals could be used as a unit badge. This standard (top) is a charging boar. The elaborate, silvered roundel (left) shows a general – future emperor Tiberius – in military dress, triumphant amongst captives and weapons. Backing plates like this (right) held busts, possibly
images of the emperor.

Boar: bronze, Italy
100 BC – AD 300
British Museum, 1772,0303.8

Roundel: silver, Niederbieber, Germany AD 1–50
LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn

Backing plate: bronze, Scotland
AD 80–180
On loan courtesy of National Museums Scotland

Loyalty and imperial worship

Emperor worship, or the imperial cult, was a cornerstone of the Roman empire. Special standard bearers (imaginifers) proudly carried the image of the emperor into battle. However, mutinous troops might tear down the imperial image from standards in a show of defiance, as happened to emperor Galba (ruled AD 68–9) during his downfall. This battered silver bust of Galba once topped a pole, possibly as a standard.

Silver
Herculaneum, Italy
AD 79
MiC – Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Panel on plinth behind:
Promotion: centurions

An ordinary soldier could aspire to become a centurion, earning fifteen times more pay and commanding a century of eighty or more men. In one case, a standard bearer showing exceptional ability or courage was promoted by 'vote of the legion', while his son fast-tracked to the rank with the social advantage of having a centurion father. Centurions needed to be well-built to administer summary beatings with their vine rod of office, and if fit enough, could serve into their sixties or seventies. Senior centurions were paid up to sixty times the basic wage.

Object labels, left to right:
A young centurion

This tombstone (left), honouring Marcus Favonius Facilis of the 20th legion, was set up in Colchester, England, by his freed slaves with stone imported from France. It is a striking effigy of a young centurion, shown with his commander's cloak and vine rod of office. Facilis likely served in the AD 43 invasion of Britain, but his career was cut short before he received any military decorations. His tombstone was toppled when Queen Boudica razed Colchester in AD 60 or 61. Facilis's cremated remains were placed inside the lead canister, accompanied by a glass vessel and ceramic cup (right).

Tombstone: plaster cast, 1800–1900
British Museum, 2012,5029.33

Grave goods: lead, glass and ceramic, Colchester, Essex,
England, AD 50–60
On loan from Colchester and Ipswich Museums

An older centurion

This monument was raised for Marcus Caelius, a high-ranking and highly decorated centurion of the 18th legion who died aged 53. He earned 30 times an ordinary legionary's wages. Here Caelius wears a harness of medals, bracelets and torcs on his shoulders. His most significant military decoration is an oak wreath crown, awarded for saving the lives of his fellow Roman citizens. He is flanked by his freedmen, Privatus and Thiaminus, enslaved men liberated by their wealthy master's death.

Stone replica
Bonn, Germany
Original: AD 9; replica: late 1800s – early 1900s
LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn

Military jewellery

Military decorations were awarded to citizen-soldiers based on rank as well as ability. Non-citizen auxiliaries were unlikely to receive them. Bracelets were usually given in pairs. These three adjustable bracelets were recovered at Colchester as part of a hoard, alongside other jewellery and coins. Possibly buried just before Boudica's attack against this settlement of largely retired Roman soldiers, the owner never returned to recover them.

Silver
Colchester, Essex, England
About AD 60
On loan from Colchester and Ipswich Museums

Military decorations

Phalerae – medal-like military decorations – could be worn as pendants, clipped onto belts or displayed as sets in a soldiers' body harness. Some were mass-produced using coloured glass moulded discs set in bronze frames. They often bore images of the imperial family to signify a soldiers' loyalty. Shown here (left to right) are:

Tiberius and a child (1), Drusus the Younger (2), Agrippina the Elder (3), and her husband Germanicus with their three children (4). The large silver phalera (5), from a set decorating a chest harness, features the Roman god Jupiter.

1
Glass, findspot unknown, AD 14–37
British Museum, 1923,0401.1158

2
Glass, findspot unknown, AD 20–50
British Museum, 1870,0224.1

3
Glass, Carlisle, Cumbria, England,
about AD 20–50
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust

4
Glass, Colchester, Essex, England,
AD 20–50
British Museum, 1870,0224.2

5
Silver, findspot unknown, AD 100–200
British Museum, 1969,0403.1

Panel on plinth:
Cavalry

Most Roman soldiers were infantry (foot soldiers), and the lack of prospects to become dashing horsemen could cause grievance and even mutiny. While Terentianus longed for the legions, some legionaries yearned for a cavalry transfer. Cavalrymen received extra pay for owning a horse and its equipment, which could be maintained by an enslaved groom. They had fewer chores, and opportunities to display their finely adorned mounts and acrobatic skills. However, they could also be selected for risky special missions such as scouting, policing hostile territory or even scaling besieged city walls.

Object labels, left to right:
Request for transfer

Terentianus was proud to sign himself 'a soldier of the legion' once he had made the transfer from the marines, but cavalry was a coveted role that could even attract legionaries. In this letter Pausanias explains that his legionary son is unhappy as an infantryman, preferring to serve in the cavalry. So great was his sons' wish, Pausanias even travelled to Alexandria in Egypt, where the legion was based, to plead for the transfer in person.

Papyrus
Al-Bahnasa (ancient Oxyrhynchus), Egypt
AD 200–300
The British Library

A triumphant cavalryman

Owning a horse was expensive and therefore prestigious – infantry centurions and officers of noble birth had their own mounts. This sarcophagus fragment depicts the deceased as an aristocratic horseman, armoured with a senior officer's breastplate and ready to strike with a (now broken-off) weapon. Shown in the classic cavalry battle role, he supports foot soldiers, mopping-up after the enemies' ranks are broken. One such enemy tumbles under the riders' hoofs while the infantryman puts another to the sword.

Marble
Probably Rome, Italy
About AD 180–220
British Museum, 1951,0306.1

Cavalry kit

This bronze cavalry helmet has a sturdy iron lining, but is also richly decorated – luxury armour providing ornament together with the best protection.

Originally some areas were tinned, creating a silvery contrast to the yellowish bronze. Cavalry helmets had short neck guards, to prevent neck injury in the event of a fall from the saddle. Romans did not use stirrups. Instead, saddle horns at each corner of the saddle, covered in leather, kept the charging cavalryman seated.

Helmet: silvered bronze
Cambridgeshire, England, AD 43–100
British Museum, 1891,1117.1

Saddle horns: bronze
Newstead fort, Scottish borders, Scotland, AD 50–100
On loan courtesy of National Museums Scotland

Image caption:

This enormous tombstone memorialises cavalryman Titus Flavius Bassus, cutting a fearsome figure on his mount with elaborate decorations, as he tramples a 'barbarian'. His enslaved groom follows with spare spears.

© Römisch-Germanisches Museum der Stadt Köln / Rheinisches Bildarchiv, Anja Wegner

Horse armour

These elaborate fittings adorned a warhorse – an extension of the showy kit of its well-off rider. The harness straps connected through about 60 silver-plated roundels, at the centre of which is a bust of emperor Nero, or possibly Claudius. It is marked with names of owner(s) serving under 'Pliny prefect of cavalry', probably referring to the famous writer and aristocratic soldier Pliny the Elder, who died leading the rescue attempt when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.

Silvered bronze
Xanten, Germany, about AD 50
Donated by Joseph Mayer
British Museum, 1868,0220.1

Camel cavalry

The cavalry unit of a Lusitanian (Portuguese or Spanish) regiment stationed in Egypt rode camels as well as horses.

Non-citizen auxiliary regiments were usually raised in the Roman provinces from a specific ethnic group, but could be redeployed across the empire where new recruits were sourced locally. This accounts for camel riders (dromedarii) – a speciality in Egypt – joining the Lusitanian ranks. This little lead camel was probably a toy.

Lead
Egypt
About AD 1–100
British Museum, 1964,0107.32

Image caption:

This strength report from AD 156 for a Lusitanian regiment in Egypt lists troops and cavalrymen, some of whom are dromedarii.

© Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung Staatliche
Museen zu Berlin, Photo: Sandra Steiß, P 6870 + P 14097 R

Horrible Histories text:

Did you know that some Roman cavalry ride camels instead of horses?

They should be called the camel-ry, geddit? Camel heels are also eaten as a delicious delicacy.

Roman emperor Elagabalus enjoys snacking on them. That gives me the hump. I hope he cleans them first.

Object labels behind, left to right:
Draco – the dragon standard

By the AD 100s, a distinctive windsock-like standard especially suited to being wielded from the saddle had been adopted from Rome's Sarmatian (nomadic Iranian) foes – the draco. This bronze standard head originally had a tube of colourful materials attached.

Carried by a draconarius, the material trailed behind the rider, blown by the breeze and emitting a whistling sound to suggest the fearsome beast's howl. Its pole was attached through two holes on the top and bottom of the head.

Bronze
Niederbieber, Germany
AD 190–260
GDKE – Direktion Landesarchäologie Außenstelle Koblenz

Image caption:

Line drawing reconstructing the tombstone of a draconarius, found in Chester, England. He was probably one of the empire's Sarmatian enemies subsequently recruited to the Roman army and later based in Britain.

© Image supplied by West Cheshire Museums

Horrible Histories text:

Want to terrify your enemy?

This fearsome face is called a draco. It's carried by a mounted draconarius soldier who leads troops into battle.

It gets scarier. The draco once had a windsock that writhed like a live serpent as the air passed through, making a wild screaming noise guaranteed to frighten your foes.

What's the most terrifying noise you can make?

Panel on plinth:
Cavalry display

Cavalry provided spectacular, colourful displays of military horsemanship and weapons drill. Rendering training sessions entertainment, mock battles were carried out by the elite riders of the unit. Both men and horses wore flamboyant finery for such prestigious occasions, which could delight governors and emperors.

Special face-mask helmets not intended for battle were the most remarkable pieces, eventually developing into highly decorated wearable sculpture depicting mythological warriors. They were as much theatre mask as military helmet, the characters perhaps denoting teams for the contest.

Object labels, left to right:
Amazon

The cavalry parade helmet at left represents a woman's face, its wearer re-gendered like a masked classical actor to probably represent a legendary Amazon warrior. Battles between the Greeks and Amazons were a common motif in classical art and cavalry sports teams seemingly re-enacted them on the parade ground. Only the front half survives.

Bronze
Nola, Italy
AD 100–200
British Museum, 1824,0407.10

Greek

Rendered in the guise of a classical warrior, the helmet at centre is crowned with city walls – a Roman military decoration awarded to the first soldier over the enemy fortifications in a siege – and perhaps used here to denote a Greek besieging Troy. The flamboyant helmet originally comprised silvered 'flesh' parts framed with polished bronze curls, topped with a crest and plumes. It is from a hoard of cavalry equipment including backing plates for a set of medals worn on the rider's chest.

Copper alloy
Ribchester, Lancashire, England
AD 75–150
British Museum, 1814,0705.1; 1814,0705.16–20

Image caption:

A rider puts on his parade helmet while his teammates, including a draconarius, head towards their opponents.

© akg-images / Peter Connolly

Trojan

The helmet at right depicts the idealised, youthful face of a Trojan with curly hair, wearing his traditional hat, known as a 'Phrygian cap'. One of the finest and most complete cavalry parade helmets ever found, the skin area is still silvered, and the curls originally contrasted in bronze. It was likely the prized possession of a skilled cavalryman in one of the regiments stationed on Britain's northern frontier.

Copper alloy
Crosby Garrett, Cumbria, England
AD 100–250
Private Collection

The Portable Antiquities Scheme

The helmet from Crosby Garrett (displayed at right) was reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) in 2010. The PAS records archaeological finds made by the public, and in England is managed by the British Museum. Finds that are Treasure must be reported by law; most other items, including this helmet, are recorded with the PAS on a voluntary basis. In 2023 the law was reformed to include such metal finds of 'outstanding significance'.

Scan the QR code or visit finds.org.uk to learn more about the PAS and explore its database of finds.

Section panel ahead, to right of display case:
Dressing for battle

Soldiers had to buy their own arms and armour. They could make new or second-hand purchases from fort armouries, or sometimes from local craftsmen. Some veterans kept their arms to pass on to their sons instead of selling them back to the armoury. Rather than pay, Terentianus exploited his family's military connections. As a marine he sent home for spears and a grappling hook for shipboard combat, as well as what he called a 'battle sword'.

There was no specific uniform beyond a military belt. Dress options were limited, but they were more varied than artistic depictions such as Trajan's column suggest. Some equipment was dictated by the soldier's role and reflected social class distinction. Citizen legionaries carried armour-piercing javelins and long, curving shields, while most auxiliaries were equipped with flat oval shields and simple spears.

Display case to left of panel, object labels left to right:
Legionary defence

Despite the countless made, this is the only complete surviving Roman legionary long shield (scutum). It is from Rome's Syrian frontier, where the dry climate preserved the wood and its remarkable painted leather surface, but its semi-cylindrical shape is now more curled. On a military red background are Roman victory and regimental motifs including an eagle with a laurel wreath, winged Victories and a lion. Soldiers painted their shields for personal and unit recognition in a variety of designs. The centre hole is missing its metal boss.

Wood, leather and bronze
Dura-Europos, Syria
Early AD 200s
Yale University Art Gallery, Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos

Defend and attack

This central boss from a legionary shield protected the user's hand and provided a punching weapon. Personifications of the four seasons decorate each corner. A central eagle clutches an olive branch flanked with military standards, Roman god of war Mars, and a bull. The boss is tagged with the owner's name and unit: 'Junius Dubitatus, of Julius Magnus' century, legio VIII Augusta'. Their regimental badge was the bull.

Metal
River Tyne, England
Early AD 100s
British Museum, 1893,1213.1

Other side of display case, object labels left to right:
Shield formation

The shield was made from layers of leather and wood strips, bound with bronze edging. Held like a suitcase handle, complete it likely weighed 5.5 kg but was stored without ever being fitted with a boss. While Roman auxiliaries mostly used flat oval shields, this semi-cylindrical profile helped legionaries interlock shields in battle manoeuvres. By the AD 250s, legionaries abandoned this shield type in favour of those common to other regiments.

Wood, leather and bronze
Dura-Europos, Syria
Early AD 200s
Yale University Art Gallery, Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos

Image caption:

Scene from Trajan's column showing the 'tortoise' manoeuvre. Interlocking long shields aid this tank-like formation to advance under enemy fire – the soldier's hobnails trample falling enemies underfoot. Troops could also run along the top to jump up onto walls.

© National Museum of Romanian History

Horrible Histories text:

Imagine how many shields like this must have existed and now only this one is left.

If hundreds of horrible soldiers were marching towards you hidden behind these, how would you react?

Look out for the eagle and the lion decoration, animals that represent victory. It's roarsome.

Wall quote:

I ask and beg you, father ... to send to me ... a battle sword.

Audio quote:

I ask and beg you, father, for I have no one dear to me except you after the gods, to send to me a battle sword, a pickaxe, a grappling iron, two of the best spears obtainable, a cloak of beaver skin, and a girdled tunic, together with my trousers, so that I may have them. I wore out my tunic before I entered the service and my trousers were laid away new.

Display case to right of wall quote, object labels left to right:
Military metalsmiths

The Roman blacksmithing kit was relatively simple, comprising anvils, hammers, tongs, punches and chisels. Arms-making was a specialist form of blacksmithing. Iron and bronze were formed by hammer over anvil. Metal was heated to soften it for shaping using tongs. Making bronze armour fittings required finer tools. Military workshops also made decorative metalwork, hammering sheets into moulds and dies, and casting, punching and chiseling to ornament arms and armour.

Iron
Waltham Abbey, Epping Forest, Essex, England
50 BC – AD 50
Courtesy of Epping Forest District Museum

An unknown armourer

Armourers were skilled immunes – basic grade soldiers exempt from many peacetime chores, but still expected to drill and fight. Evidence suggests large-scale production. A surviving manifest from a military armoury in Egypt lists legionaries, their servants and possibly auxiliary soldiers hard at work. Ten long swords were made in one day, while on another bows, artillery parts and two different shield types were produced. A fort armoury at Carlisle made the equipment displayed here.

Repair, recycle and reuse

The scraps of two different types of body armour, spearhead and shin guard come from the workshop of a fort on Hadrian's Wall. They attest to valuable military equipment being repaired and recycled rather than discarded. The collar of fine scales was originally stitched onto a leather or textile garment.

It combines three curving rows in iron and bronze for decorative contrast with extra riveting for lateral strength. The iron segmental armour is from a shoulder plate, its bronze hinge and fixings still attached.

Iron, Carlisle, Cumbria, England, AD 75–410
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust

Display case to right, object labels left to right:
Locally sourced

Roman soldiers could obtain kit from local civilian craftsmen. Roman and native techniques and tastes influenced one another, leading to the emergence of new distinctive artistic styles. This helmet (1) combines a Roman shape with Celtic style decoration on the back. The sword (2) appears to be a Roman form, also modified by adding decorative Celtic style fittings to the handle. Both are from Britain. Perhaps their owners were Roman soldiers native to the areas where those styles originated.

1
Copper alloy
Findspot unknown, AD 50–150
British Museum, 1872,1213.2

2
Iron and copper alloy
Hod Hill, Dorset, England, AD 1–100
British Museum, 1892,0901.452

Standard early imperial issue

Helmets like this (3) were standard issue since before the reign of emperor Augustus. It has a hemispherical cap with side-plume holder tubes, and flat neck and brow guards. A crest could be attached to the knob at the top. Punched inscriptions on the neck guard list four owners, and potentially decades of use – Lucius Dulcius; Lucius Postumus; Rufus; Aulus Saufeius.

3
Copper alloy
Helmet: Walbrook, London, England
Cheekpiece: River Thames at Kew, England
AD 1–100
British Museum, 1950,0706.1; 1910,1007.1

Side arms

Daggers were side arms and general-purpose tools. The brass and red enamel geometric inlay of this dagger (4) makes it unusually fancy. Short swords were specialised stabbing tools and standard issue for Roman foot soldiers. This example (5) has a leaf-shaped blade, and a scabbard decorated with the wolf-and-twins badge of Rome. Until the late AD 100s, soldiers carried their dagger on the left and their sword on the right. Centurions and noble senior officers were permitted to wear their sword on the left.

4
Iron and bronze with brass and enamel inlay
River Rhine at Mainz, Germany, AD 1–100
GDKE - Directorate Landesmuseum Mainz

5
Iron and bronze
River Thames at Fulham, England, AD 43–75
British Museum, 1883,0407.1

Added protection

Roman helmets developed over time. A key change to afford additional protection was lowering and widening the neck guard. This helmet (6) was modified by a Roman armourer to lower the neck guard and add a carry handle. Such savvy reuse suggests long service, but, post-modification, it carries only one owner's name: 'Marcus Arruntius from Aquileia [Italy] who served in the century of Sempronius.' The reshaping brought it in line with later imperial helmet types, such as this plain yet functional example (7).

6
Bronze
Eich, Germany, 10 BC – AD 30
Private Collection UK

7
Copper alloy
Mainz, Germany, AD 1–100
GDKE - Directorate Landesmuseum Mainz

Official gifts

This ornate short sword and scabbard (8), rich with imperial imagery, was perhaps an official gift or reward. Emperor Tiberius poses as Jupiter, flanked by Victory and Mars. He receives a statuette of victory from his general (and nephew) Germanicus, who cedes credit for his military victory to the emperor, according to strict imperial protocol. The first emperor Augustus is depicted in the roundel below.

8
Iron and bronze with gilding and tinning
Mainz, Germany, AD 14–19
Donated by Felix Slade
British Museum, 1866,0806.1

Cavalry helmets

Cavalry helmets did not have long neck guards, as they risked breaking the rider's neck in a fall from the saddle. This face-mask cavalry helmet (9) comprises parts from two separate helmets – the mask is fragmentary but still retains its stylised ear.

Made of sturdy iron, it protected its mounted wearer, but lacks the character detail of later finely-worked bronze cavalry parade masks.

9
Iron
Helmet: Xanten/Wardt, Germany
Mask fragment: Neuss, Germany
AD 1–100
LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn

A new design

By the time of the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79, a new form of Roman short sword appeared with parallel-sided blades that probably offered increased stabbing power. The ridged bone grip of this sword (10) kept it securely in hand. The scabbard was leather, but only its copper alloy fittings survive. It is the type of 'battle sword' familiar to Terentianus.

10
Iron, bronze, wood and bone
House of the gladiators, Pompeii, Italy
About AD 79
MiC – Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Crocodile armour

Some Roman soldiers participated in local religions – Terentianus was keen to report his piety. Crocodile-worship was common in Egypt. This crocodile scalp could be a ritual headdress, or a local adaptation of the fierce lion and bear hoods worn by Roman standard bearers. The tough leather of the crocodile skin resembles the texture of scale body armour, and leather protection might have sufficed for some soldiers. Alternatively, it was perhaps worn under metal armour for cushioning, adding flexible hip and shoulder protection.

Crocodile leather
Probably Manfalut, Egypt
AD 200–400
British Museum, 1846,0501.9

Horrible Histories text:

Some Roman soldiers are snappy dressers – this tough armour is made from crocodile skin. Maybe it was worn to show enemies that the wearer was strong enough to kill a crocodile.

But the truth is, we don't know too much about this piece (not even museums know everything!).

Body armour

A cuirass is body armour made to cover a soldier's torso. This example – from an armourer's hoard – is a segmental cuirass. It offered the protective solidity of an iron breastplate, but with the flexibility and extra shoulder protection afforded by (originally) 40 articulated plates fixed with straps and hinges. Sculptural depictions commonly show legionaries wearing this style of armour, but discoveries of military equipment at auxiliary bases suggest auxiliary use too.

Iron and copper alloy
Corbridge, Northumberland, England
AD 50–100
English Heritage, Corbridge Roman Site

Chainmail

This deceptively simple looking armour is a chainmail shirt, found in the barracks of a fort on Hadrian's Wall. It probably belonged to a soldier of the 5th cohort of Gauls, an auxiliary unit raised in the area including modern France. The individual rings are 7 mm wide and were fixed by riveting alternating rows, making it painstaking and expensive to produce.

Iron
Arbeia fort, Tyne and Wear, England
AD 200–300
Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort

Full protection

Segmental armour developed over time. This example has fewer exposed hinges and fittings, to avoid them becoming damaged during battle. From the same Scottish findspot as the body armour is this armoured sleeve, inspired by the sword-arm protection used by Roman gladiators. This late AD 100s legionary look is completed with an armour-piercing javelin, a straight-edged short sword and a helmet with fully developed neck protection.

Iron
Newstead fort, Scottish borders, Scotland
AD 100–200
On loan courtesy of National Museums Scotland

The best protection

This magnificently preserved helmet shows the most developed protective features of Roman military headgear. Extra cross-braced reinforcing strips protected the skull, and the deepest style neck guard protected the neck. The handle made it easier to hand-carry, hang over the shoulder or perhaps sling over a shield during long marches. The cheekpieces are missing. Its owner was Lucius Sollonius Super of the 30th legion.

Bronze, Niedermörmter, Germany
Late AD 100s – 200s
LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn

Image caption:

Gold coin showing the badges of the 30th legion, a Capricorn and Jupiter. Created by emperor Trajan, it was Rome's highest-numbered legion.

© The Trustees of the British Museum

First blows

Roman legionaries fought with short sword and pilum (javelin), the latter thrown at the enemy before contact. This disrupted enemy formations, creating gaps for close-quarters attack with sword and shield. Pilum shanks were around 60–90 cm long. Their pyramid-shaped heads could punch and follow through an opponent's shield. Auxiliaries used simple thrusting spears instead. While still a marine, Terentianus sent home for 'two of the best spears obtainable'. The short sword has a distinctive integral ring pommel, a type used by soldiers in Germany and Britain.

Iron
Pilum head: Hod Hill, Dorset, England, AD 43–75
British Museum, 1892,0901.1111
Sword: East Sussex, England, AD 100–200
British Museum, 2004,0301.1

Horrible Histories text:

You'd think that Roman soldiers would be kitted out by the army. No.

We have to buy and look after our own equipment.

Just a simple thrusting spear and a flat oval shield for me (until someone recognises my exceptional talent and I get promoted).

Obviously the legionaries usually have the best-looking armour.

The helmets are uncomfortable. My ears keep getting stuck. Why not try one on to see how it fits? Pick up a shield too.

Give your best pose. Remember, rotten Roman soldiers are supposed to be scary.

Horrible Histories text:

Being a soldier is exhausting. We move around a lot.

So much marching.

And we have to set up camp all over again each time we settle in a new place.

Ordinary soldiers like me do lots of hard jobs, like digging ditches and defences, starting campfires, cooking and pitching tents.

And don't forget the smelly jobs like washing everyone's dirty underwear and digging the toilets. Glamorous.

Spin the wheel of misfortune to see what foul fate awaits you in camp.

Smell, look and feel your way to being a stinky soldier on campaign.

Section panel, at centre of the gallery:
Camps and campaign

Marching was a mundane reality for soldiers, who endured extensive rough living before they ever reached the battlefield. Terentianus complained of wearing out his footwear twice monthly. Nightly camps replicated the safety of forts, but tent life was more basic. When it eventually came to fighting, great efforts were made to deploy highly organised battlelines, presenting a shield wall to face off massed enemies. This Roman battle-winning tactic allowed legions to stand firm against even the seemingly unstoppable cavalry charge of the empire's eastern enemies.

Roman victory was not always guaranteed. Defeat was inevitable in civil war, when legion was pitched against legion. Since victory was accompanied by looting, brutal punishment and enslavement, Roman soldiers could become enriched or lose everything.

Display case to left of section panel, object labels left to right:
Enduring life under the skins

Tents became the temporary homes of soldiers and emperors alike. Their cost was taken from soldiers' pay; the mother of a deceased soldier is recorded as receiving a 20 denarii refund for her son's 1/8 th share of a tent. Soldiers shared camp duties including cooking, cleaning and standing guard. These goatskin panels are from the roof and side of a military tent, dumped in a fort storeroom with other worn-out leather goods. Marines like Terentianus decamped first to clear pathways ahead of the rest of the advancing army.

Leather
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England
AD 100–200
Vindolanda Trust

Image caption:

Tents at an encampment on Trajan's column. The artist emphasises their construction from leather panels.

© National Museum of Romanian History

Pitching up

The form of a Roman tent was similar to modern versions. Pegs held guy ropes in place, maintaining the tent's shape and securing it against the elements. Many of these wooden pegs have been found at Vindolanda – a fort on Britain's northern frontier – stored along with tents between campaign trips.

Wood
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England
AD 85–410
Vindolanda Trust

Panel on plinth, at left:
Life on campaign

Roman armies on campaign camped within earth ramparts, dug at the end of each day's gruelling march, and levelled again before departing. A tent was shared by a unit of eight men, who also split one eighth of its cost. Camps duplicated the layout of permanent forts but lacked even basic sanitation, making tent life rough and unhygienic. Terentianus even suffered the misery of bad food poisoning. Although officers had private tents, being pitched together could create a sense of camaraderie among the men and their commanders.

Object labels, left to right:
Carting the camp

Each eight-man tent party had a pack mule for communal supplies including a folded leather tent of about 18–20 kg, two tent poles, pegs, ropes, digging tools, a portable mill to grind grain, and extra food. Draft mules hauled carts loaded with wider army supplies such as spare weapons and artillery. Some enslaved servants travelled with the baggage train, on one occasion even defending it from a surprise attack. This bell is from a draft mule found on a battlefield. Its neck was broken by its harness as it tumbled into a ditch. The bell was stuffed with grass, dulling its chime to avoid alerting the enemy.

Copper alloy
Kalkriese, Germany, AD 9
VARUSSCHLACHT im Osnabrücker Land gGmbh /
Museum und Park Kalkriese

On the march

Terentianus was ordered from Egypt to the empire's eastern front, probably in AD 113 for emperor Trajan's campaign against Parthia, Rome's superpower rival. He describes being deployed as a vexillation, a smaller detachment of soldiers marching under a vexillum (flag) in lieu of the whole regiment's usual standard. This stone depiction of a vexillum of the British-based 2nd legion (behind the case) shows it as a tasselled banner.

Sandstone
Corbridge, Northumberland, England
AD 138–61
English Heritage, Corbridge Roman Site

Packed up

Though mules and oxen transported larger camp items, soldiers were expected to carry personal equipment and armour even on marches over vast distances. This leather cover protected a soldier's shield from the elements and made it easier to carry. The leather has been stretched at the centre by the shield's boss. It covered a flat oval shield – the type used by most auxiliary troops – rather than the rectangular legionary version.

Leather
Bar Hill fort, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland
AD 142–80
The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

Setting up camp

Turf ramparts and wooden stakes protected camps overnight. Soldiers carried two stakes with their kit, which also included an entrenching pickaxe. Unfortunate Terentianus relates that his pickaxe was stolen by an officer.

Troops had to work quickly – camp was pitched after a long day's march and often under enemy threat. Upon departure everything was dismantled and levelled to prevent enemy use. Armies often changed camps nightly, not least because they quickly became muddy and polluted with food, animal and human waste.

Stake: wood
Great Chesters fort, Northumberland, England, AD 80–410
Great North Museum: Hancock. From the collection of the
Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne

Pickaxe: iron with modern wood shaft
Hod Hill, Dorset, England, AD 43–75
British Museum, 1892,0901.1259

Image caption:

Soldiers dig ramparts to make camp, directed by a centurion.

© akg-images / Peter Connolly

Mobile field hospitals

Roman regiments had permanent medics who provided medical care on campaign. Some were simply bandage-men, soldiers excused from chores to nurse comrades. Others were doctors who administered medicines and undertook battlefield surgery. Medical instruments such as this bone saw, forceps and knife were used with only opium as anaesthetic. There was no antiseptic. Some patients even survived so-called heroic surgery, inside the abdominal cavity. A sick soldier was doubly vulnerable – Terentianus complained of being robbed of his bedding while in sick bay.

Copper alloy
Medical box: Yortan, Turkey; bone saw: France; knife: Italy
AD 1–400
British Museum, 1921,1220.122; 1851,0813.101;
1968,0626.35; 1878,1019.145

An army medic

Army medics were on hand to deliver first aid during and after battle, as well as treating ailments back at base. This tombstone commemorates Anicius Ingenius, a 25-year-old military doctor stationed on Hadrian's Wall. Medical provision helped prevent depletion of the ranks. A report from Vindolanda fort notes 31 soldiers as sick and out of action on one particular day, a 4% reduction in fighting strength.

Stone
Housesteads fort, Northumberland, England
AD 75–410
Great North Museum: Hancock. From the collection of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne

Horrible Histories text:

I've got a side-job patching up poorly soldiers – it gets me off the dirty chores.

Don't worry, proper doctors travel with the army too. A shame this one couldn't cure himself.

Our camps are full of dirt and pests like fleas, nits and rats (not me, though, I like to wash at least once a month – any passing stream will do).

Spreading diseases

Soldiers living and working in close quarters spread diseases. The Antonine plague was a pandemic introduced to Rome by campaigning armies returning from the empire's eastern frontier in AD 166. This marble inscription was dedicated by 41 legionary veterans enlisted in an accelerated recruitment drive after AD 168, replacing casualties of the plague. When the soldiers who had enlisted retired 25 years later, it put serious strain on the empire's finances.

Marble
Alexandria, Egypt
AD 194
British Museum, 1946,0206.1

Wall quote:

Know that I am being sent off to Syria and am about to leave with a detachment.

Audio quote:

Both Kalabel and Deipistus have enlisted in the Augustan fleet of Alexandria. No one has reckoned up the chances of their lives. I went by boat, and with their help I enlisted in the fleet lest I seem to you to wander like a fugitive, lured on by a bitter hope. Know, father, that I am now being sent off to Syria and am about to leave with a detachment.

Display case to right of wall quote, object labels left to right:
Mother of the camp

Roman rulers could achieve military credibility by pitching in with the rank and file. Some empresses even travelled with their husbands on campaign. Their presence curried popularity among the troops and could lead to recognition as mater castrorum (mother of the camp). The title is broadcast here on a brass coin of the empress Faustina II (ruled AD 161–76), wife of Marcus Aurelius, and a gold coin of Julia Domna (ruled AD 193–217), wife of Septimius Severus.

Left: copper alloy
Rome, Italy, AD 161–76
British Museum, 1872,0709.695

Right: gold
Rome, Italy, AD 198–209
British Museum, 1882,0407.1

Image caption:

The front of the brass coin displayed here, showing Faustina II.

© The Trustees of the British Museum

Empress Julia Domna

Julia Domna accompanied her husband, emperor Septimius Severus, on his extensive military campaigns. This bust shows her distinctive hairstyle. Curving up at the back and held with horizontal braids, it seems to resemble a military helmet. Wisps of natural hair peeking out near the ears show that the rest is in fact a wig. Imperial doctors recommended emperors on campaign crop their hair for hygiene. If Julia Domna followed suit, perhaps her obvious wig was a deliberate attempt to display her commitment to the army.

Marble
Probably Rome, Italy
AD 203–17
Yale University Art Gallery, Ruth Elizabeth White Fund

Image caption:

The distinctive form of a Roman helmet provided protection to the back of the neck. Julia Domna's wig flares out in the same directions, echoing this shape.

© LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn

A military monarch

Septimius Severus (ruled AD 193–211) was a Roman governor proclaimed emperor by his troops. While securing his position through civil wars, he won wider loyalty by increasing soldiers' pay, social status and marriage rights. This marble bust depicts him in imperial travelling gear of tunic and military officer's cloak. The emperor fought and travelled widely with his armies and died at York while campaigning in Britain.

Marble
Rome, Italy
AD 200–10
British Museum, 1805,0703.104

Image caption:

Septimius Severus and Julia Domna with their sons Caracalla and Geta (defaced after his fall from power). The couple were Roman provincials of North African and Syrian descent respectively.

© Antikensammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, photographer Johannes Laurentius

Panel in next section, on left wall:
Battle

Sooner or later, soldiers on campaign faced the daunting prospect of battle – something new troops like Terentianus experienced from the front of the battleline. The Roman army was highly organised, but some enemies put even their training and tactics to the test. Roman governor Arrian recorded repelling a major attack by Sarmatian forces on the empire's eastern frontier. His two legions faced an intimidating onslaught of cataphracts – heavy cavalry almost completely covered in armour. Rome's enemies were met with a solid shield wall. Javelin-hurling legionaries eight battlelines deep were backed by archers, then mounted archers and finally artillery on higher ground beyond.

Display case ahead, object labels left to right:
Cataphracts

Cataphract cavalry on Trajan's column are fancifully depicted in tightly fitting armoured suits for horse and rider. The reality was more of an armoured horse blanket, like this uniquely preserved example. Cataphract armour covered the whole body – horse and man would be hot and heavily laden. This horse armour uses larger scale-like metal plates than human armour. It was lost when Roman Dura-Europos was destroyed by the Sasanians in AD 256–7. By this time cataphracts had also joined the Roman ranks, so it could have belonged to a rider from either side.

Iron, linen and leather
Dura-Europos, Syria
AD 200–300
Yale University Art Gallery, Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos

Horrible Histories text:

We do like to ride into battle on horses, us Romans. It's no good if the horses aren't protected though.

One bright spark was inspired by this horse armour idea from an enemy.

These horse soldiers from central Asia were adopted into our army after we beat them in battle. They're fearsome formation cavalrymen. The armour is so stifling soldiers are nicknamed 'cooking pot men'. I'd rather not be a 'cooking pot Terrattus', thank you.

Muzzle protection

During battle the horse's head and neck was also armoured. Sieve-like metal guards resembling insect eyes shielded the beast's vulnerable eyes from projectiles. A leather face mask (chamfron), similar to the one shown here, held the eye guards and afforded further protection.

Horse equipment could be decorative as well as functional. The eye guards were found with a chamfron decoration of Minerva, Roman goddess of wise warfare.

Mask: leather
Newstead fort, Scottish borders, Scotland, AD 80–100
On loan courtesy of National Museums Scotland

Eye guards and decoration: copper alloy
Ribchester, Lancashire, England, AD 75–150
British Museum, 1814,0705.2; 1814,0705.3; 1814,0705.6

Image caption:

Artistic licence on Trajan's column shows cataphract horsemen clad in body-hugging scaly armour. One looses an arrow backwards – the characteristic battle tactic of eastern horsemen.

© National Museum of Romanian History

Long plinth at right, object labels right to left:
Archers

The archer commemorated on the tombstone (behind, at left) holds a bow and possible arrow-shaping tool. He wears a sword belt and shoulders a quiver of arrows. He is bare-headed – what looks like a helmet crest is in fact a sculptural support. He was probably from the 1st Hamian cohort, a unit of Syrian archers stationed on Hadrian's Wall. Such archers are depicted in fantastical eastern garb on Trajan's column, but in reality they dressed like typical Roman infantrymen. This leather cover from an archer's quiver is a rare survival.

Tombstone: stone
Housesteads fort, Northumberland, England, AD 100–200

Quiver: leather
Birdoswald fort, Cumbria, England, AD 122–410

Great North Museum: Hancock. From the collection of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne

Legionaries in battle formation

During battle inexperienced soldiers occupied the front line, blocked from retreat by the older men – a position young Terentianus might have found himself in when he still had the stamina of youth and ignorance of the horror of combat. The legionaries depicted on the stone stele (left) are drawn up deep in close formation using their long shields as a defensive wall, a crucial Roman battle tactic. They were perhaps the 5th legion, called the 'larks' as the bird had plumage reminiscent to their helmet adornments. The legion was possibly destroyed by the Sarmatians in AD 92.

Stone
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, AD 1–50
On loan from Lugdunum – Musée & théâtres romains, métropole de Lyon, France

Graphic panel:
Imperial progress

Scenes 39–40 of Trajan's column, showing four stages of imperial progress. The scenes read from right to left. First the Roman army fights and defeats its enemy. After battle, wounded Roman soldiers are treated at a mobile field hospital. Next a fort is built, from which to assert control over the newly occupied land. Finally, the emperor receives the leaders of his defeated foes.

© National Museum of Romanian History

Captions on graphic panel, right to left:

'Barbarians' put to flight by Roman cavalry

The heat of battle

Cart-mounted artillery catapults

Trumpeters

Soldier presenting a captive to the emperor

Emperor Trajan

Standard bearers

Soldier securing a captive

Cavalryman having a thigh wound treated

Infantryman having an arm wound treated

The emperor and his officers receiving

Dacian leaders

Surrendering Dacian leaders

Dacian men, women and children surrendering to Roman soldiers

Soldiers building a fort on conquered territory

Mounted archers

Mounted archers provided mobility and greater elevation to boost effective bowshot range. The tombstone of an archer on a warhorse (behind) commemorates Flavius Proclus, from Amman (modern-day Jordan), who died aged 20. Syrians such as Proclus were renowned within the Roman army for their archery skills. Proclus was seconded from his position as a provincial auxiliary to the emperor's bodyguard – his outsider (non-citizen) status was useful to keep his political loyalty focussed on the emperor.

Stone
Mainz, Germany
AD 70–100
GDKE - Directorate Landesmuseum Mainz

Catapults

The replica light-calibre catapult displayed at the top of the plinth has two D-shaped blocks similar to the unfinished (undrilled) original pieces found in the fort at Carlisle, displayed here (4). For extra elevation, catapults could be set up on high ground beyond the battlefield or even cart-mounted as mobile artillery. Rather than being set within wooden blocks, the torsion frames of larger catapults (3) were spaced with metal brackets. Each century of 80 soldiers maintained a cart-mounted catapult, while their cohort of 440 soldiers shared larger war machines.

Wood and metal (modern replica)
Built by Tom Feeley, Lan Morgan and Alan Wilkins
Alan Wilkins

Image caption:

Close-up of the replica catapult displayed on the plinth, showing the centre blocks holding two torsion frames.

© Alan Wilkins

Tormenting the enemy

Roman artillery (tormenta) catapulted bolts (1) up to half a kilometre, some with a cage for burning rags (2), while ballista hurled stone balls up to 200m. Animal sinew was wrapped around their metal torsion frames (3). Frame washers released tension when not in use to prevent sinew wearing out. Different calibres were used – some of the smallest were cart-mounted or perhaps even handheld. The D-shape blocks (4) are for a small catapult. From an armourer's store, they are unfinished and without holes for the torsion frames.

1–2
Wood and iron (modern replicas)
Standard bolt made by Alan Wilkins; firebolt made by Tom Feeley
Alan Wilkins

3
Iron, Lyon, France, AD 1–400
On loan from Lugdunum – Musée & théâtres romains, métropole de Lyon, France

4
Wood and iron, Carlisle, Cumbria, England
AD 75–410
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust

Image caption:

Here, during Rome's AD 135 battle against the cataphracts, the sky over the Roman shield wall is thick with javelins, arrows and catapult rounds.

© akg-images / Peter Connolly

Emperor Hadrian

Hadrian (ruled AD 117–38) is depicted here as a military commander, wearing an officer's cloak and cuirass. In major battles, active military emperors were often just behind the lines, directing operations. Although an experienced general, in AD 135 the elderly Hadrian was even further away – confined to Rome – and only learned how general Arrian, serving on the eastern frontier, defeated the cataphracts through written correspondence. Terentianus was nearing retirement at the time – his legion was not involved.

Marble
Tivoli, Italy
AD 125–30
British Museum, 1805,0703.95

Panel in next section, on plinth at left:
Aftermath

Battle was followed by bloody aftermath. Enemy captives could be subject to horrific treatment at the hands of the victors. Conquered land was consolidated and the spoils of war, both human and material, were taken. Soldiers like Terentianus who had been unable to take captives had the opportunity to purchase them from troops who had. While rewards for soldiers sustained loyalty, loot also helped to subsidise imperial projects such as victory monuments, allowing the emperor to publicise his triumph and secure military and political credibility.

Object labels, left to right:
A prisoner of war

Mass enslavement of war captives often followed Roman victories. This is part of a colossal marble statue, the bound prisoner shown at the skirts of a lost standing figure of an emperor or the Roman goddess Victory. His general appearance combines features of Roman 'barbarian' enemies from west and east. His face shows the anguish of a captive doomed to enslavement.

Marble
Nile Delta, Egypt
AD 100–200
British Museum, 1973,0330.5

Image caption:

Scene from Trajan's column showing the torture of naked prisoners. The torch-wielding abusers are possibly Roman women. The scene ominously appears after a prisoner of war camp full of still-clothed inmates.

© National Museum of Romanian History

Spoils of war

Roman writer Tacitus stated: 'The booty of a city ... always falls to the soldiers if it is captured, to the officers if it surrenders.' Such loot commonly featured in Roman triumphalist art. On this marble relief of captured arms and armour, the sculptor combines Roman with Dacian and Sarmatian equipment. A draco standard sits at top centre amidst helmets, cuirasses, shields, swords, a battle axe, a quiver of arrows and a ram's-head battering ram.

Marble
Rome, Italy
AD 100–200
British Museum, 1805,0703.436

Death on the battlefield

In AD 197, Septimius Severus and his rival Clodius Albinus clashed in civil war at Lyon, France. This equipment was found on the remains of a soldier from Severus' victorious army, hurriedly buried on the battlefield. The circumstances of the soldier's death are puzzling. His sword, purse containing 12 silver coins, and various fittings were all valuable items. The absence of a cuirass under his belts suggests he was killed in the aftermath of battle, heavy armour discarded to loot and rampage. His belt's inscription 'use with good luck' was in vain.

Silver and copper alloy
Lyon, France
AD 197
On loan from Lugdunum – Musée & théâtres romains, métropole de Lyon, France

Triumphal symbols

Roman art is rich in the symbolic language of victory. Emperors celebrated military success with triumphant processions through Rome parading spoils and captives. The silver coin depicts triumphal ornaments – an eagle-tipped sceptre and laurel crown flank ornate robes. The reverse shows a triumphal chariot. On the terracotta relief, Roman soldiers lead distressed prisoners in chains. A more permanent architectural commemoration is depicted on the gold coin – the arch for emperor Claudius's victorious British invasion of AD 43.

Coin: silver, Spain, 18 BC
British Museum, 1844,0425.430

Plaque: terracotta, Italy, AD 100–200
British Museum, 1805,0703.342

Coin: gold, Rome, Italy, AD 46–7
British Museum, 1863,0501.1

Image caption:

Rome's triumphal arches were originally topped with statues. The coin shows emperor Claudius on horseback flanked by humanlike trophies of captured arms and armour. Only fragments of his arch survive in Rome.

© The Trustees of the British Museum

Horrible Histories text:

Celebrating winning is an important part of being a Roman soldier (aren't we great?).

Emperors need to show their military success to help them stay popular (and alive). Can you spot the triumphant scenes of victory on these Roman coins? How would you celebrate your success?

Wall quote:

He sent me word about a woman. With my consent he was buying one for me.

Audio quote:

He sent me word about a woman. With my consent he was buying one for me. As far back as two years ago I would have taken a woman into my house, but I did not permit myself, nor do I permit myself to take anyone without your approval, and you will not hear otherwise from me on this subject. If you remain steadfast in refusal the rest of your life, I shall do without my woman. If not, the woman whom you approve is the one whom I also want.

Section panel, on plinth opposite wall quote:
Fort life

The Roman army built forts wherever a more permanent military presence might be required – along the empire's frontiers or in restless areas to prevent or suppress local uprisings. Their standardised design comprised barracks and other military buildings. Civilian townships (vici) with bathhouses, shops and taverns developed just beyond the walls. Places of refuge after months on campaign, here soldiers could enjoy private life outside their military duties. Ranks below centurion were forbidden to marry, but soldiers could start unofficial families with local women or enslaved concubines. Terentianus somewhat grovelled for family permission to buy a woman, but their response is unknown.

Object labels to right of panel, left to right:
The spirit of the standards

Imbued with spiritual significance, military standards were revered by the troops. This altar to the spirits of the emperor and the standards is from the shrine room of a fort's headquarters, where the unit's standards were kept alongside imperial portraits between campaigns. Sacrifices were made in front of them. Empresses who accompanied the army, such as Julia Domna, are depicted sacrificing to the standards in their role as 'mother of the camp'.

Stone
Rochester fort, Northumberland, England
AD 238–41
Great North Museum: Hancock. On loan to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne from the Duke of Northumberland

Protective amulets

Decorative personal adornments are common finds from forts. Small items that became detached or lost can offer insight into the beliefs of their wearers. Considered to be imbued with magical qualities, jet was used for charms offering luck or protection. The jet pendants here depict two cupids throwing a pot and the petrifying gaze of Medusa. The intaglios – semi-precious settings from finger-rings – show Ceres, goddess of agricultural abundance, Bonus Eventus personifying success, and a deity combining symbols of Jupiter and Apollo.

Pendants: jet
Colchester, Essex, England, AD 100–400;
Cologne, Germany, AD 200–400
British Museum, 1852,0626.1; 1970,0102.3

Intaglios: glass
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England, AD 85–410
Vindolanda Trust

The bathhouse

Forts had bathhouses, probably shared with the neighbouring civilian township, for relaxation and recreation as much as cleaning. They were used not only by soldiers but also their families. These thick wood-soled sandals kept bathers' feet dry and safe from burning on the heated floors of the bathhouse. The man-size clogs were accompanied by smaller ones suitable for women or teenagers at Vindolanda fort.

Wood and leather
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England
AD 85–410
Vindolanda Trust

Gaming

Warm bathhouses were a favourite place for off-duty soldiers to relax and socialise, especially in the sometimes cold forts along the empire's northern frontier. Coins, counters and food waste attest to gaming and gambling, accompanied by snacks including shellfish, meats, fruits and olives. This board is set for the popular Roman game ludus latrunculorum, meaning 'game of little bandits'. Players must surround a piece of the opposing colour to remove it from the board – here, the top white piece is about to be taken by the black.

Sandstone and glass
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England
AD 85–410
Vindolanda Trust

An anti-cheating device

Gambling and betting attracted cheating, but opponents using this dice tower were unable to manipulate their throw. Dice dropped into the top fell through the inside, rolling off angled levels. This ensured they tumbled randomly before emerging down the steps at the bottom, ringing little bells. The inscription on the front reads: 'The Picts defeated ... the enemy has been destroyed ... play in safety'. Around the top is the phrase: 'Use and live with luck'.

Copper alloy and bone
Cologne, Germany
AD 300–400
LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn

Horrible Histories text:

Get a bunch of soldiers together playing games and someone's bound to try to cheat. Not me. Someone else.

And some stricter Romans who don't approve of cheating find ways to make sure we all play fair. Boring!

This fancy tower shakes out the dice without anyone interfering. No cheats here.

Can you spot the little bell that rings when the dice roll past?

Object labels on plinth opposite, right to left:
Bar Hill Roman fort

Most Roman forts followed a standardised layout and suite of buildings. Journey through the fort at Bar Hill on the Antonine Wall in Scotland, on the empire's northernmost frontier.

Duration: about 3 minutes, 30 seconds
This is silent

© Historic Environment Scotland. 3D assets created jointly by Historic Environment Scotland and The Glasgow School of Art.

Military preparation begins young

One motivation for soldiers who were granted citizenship after 25 years of service might be their son's improved prospects. Many sons of soldiers also entered the profession, some perhaps inspired by childhood experiences of army life. Some troops described their origins as castris – meaning they were born in camp. This small wooden sword was likely a toy, used by children playing at soldiering.

Wood
London, England
AD 43–410
British Museum, 1856,0701.1397

Memorial to a child

Representations of children – particularly young girls – are rare from the Roman world. This example (behind, at right) is a poignant memorial to Vacia, who died aged three. However, an older child is depicted, perhaps suggesting that this was a ready-made tombstone. Dressed in a long, belted tunic and cloak, and holding a bunch of grapes in her right hand, Vacia spent her short life amongst the military community on Hadrian's Wall.

Stone
Carlisle, Cumbria, England
AD 100–200
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust

Women in forts

Officer's wives, concubines, other enslaved women and girls, local women and even empresses visited, lived and worked in forts. Terentianus asked permission from home to buy a concubine but we do not know if his request was approved. Evidence of women and girls within fort walls include personal ornaments such as earrings, and hairpins similar to those in this bun of hair – the only preserved remains of a woman buried in a lead-lined coffin filled with liquid plaster. The pot resembles empress Julia Domna – locally-made merchandise probably commemorating her residence amidst the soldiers in York's fortress from AD 208–11.

Human hair and jet: York, North Yorkshire, England
AD 200–400
Ceramic: York, North Yorkshire, England, AD 200–25
York Museums Trust (Yorkshire Museum)

Fort families

In forts, official families lived in centurions' quarters and the houses of higher-ranking officers. Unofficial families squeezed into cramped barracks, or else resided in adjacent townships. Shops and suppliers were drawn to military outposts, catering to the needs of family life. The lace-up soldier's boot (left) was a practical choice in a northern climate. The woman's shoe (right) still has hobnails on the sole, marrying frontier practicality with style. The remarkably preserved pair of leather shoes (front) belonged to a young child.

Leather
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England
AD 85–410
Vindolanda Trust

Image caption:

Image of a sales receipt for a 'full-grown girl from North Africa in the best condition', sold to marine Titus Memmius Montanus for 625 denarii, some two-and-a-half times a marine's basic annual salary.

© Barbara Zimmerman / University Library Giessen

Regina, the freedwoman of Barates, alas!

This tombstone (behind, at left), with its heartfelt lament, belongs to Regina, a freedwoman and wife of the soldier Barates. Though she came from southern England and he from Palmyra in Syria, they lived and died (she aged 30) on Hadrian's Wall. A freedwoman wife suggests initial enslavement as Barates's concubine. Inscribed in Latin with its lament in Palmyrene, it was possibly made by a Syrian sculptor at Arbeia fort (which could mean 'place of the Arabs'). Regina sits on a wicker chair, spinning thread from a basket of wool.

Stone
Arbeia fort, Tyne and Wear, England
AD 100–200
Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort

Beware of the guard dog!

This marble statue of a seated Molossian hound is a Roman copy of a bronze original from the Greek world. Molossians were a large ferocious breed often depicted as Roman guard dogs, and used for fighting, both in war and the amphitheatre. In Roman forts, dogs provided added security, as well as companions for hunting – a favourite leisure pursuit of the commander at Vindolanda fort.

Marble
Probably Rome, Italy
AD 100–200
British Museum, 2001,1010.1

An imaginifer's daughter

This fragment from a tombstone (behind, at right) depicts the funeral feast of standard bearer Crescens's daughter. An imaginifer, he carried the portrait of the emperor at the head of his regiment. Age and name unknown, the deceased woman reclines on a couch holding a goblet, as a female servant passes her food from a three-legged table. A board game is propped on its side beneath her couch. As the daughter of an officer, she may have been raised in a fort.

Stone
Kirkby Thore, Cumbria, England
AD 100–300
British Museum, 1970,0102.7

Supplying the fort

Army outposts could demand huge amounts of supplies. Forts seemingly held one years' worth in stock for the hundreds of resident soldiers and their families. This wooden barrel from the Antonine Wall in Scotland features a central bunghole and a scratched name of the owner or vendor, Januarius. The lead seal tagged supplies for the largest cavalry unit based in Britain, at Stanwix fort in Carlisle.

Barrel: wood
Bar Hill fort, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, AD 142–80
The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

Seal: lead
Carlisle, Cumbria, England, AD 98–410
On loan from Carlisle Cricket Club

Eating and drinking

There were no canteens in forts, but as in camp soldiers cooked and ate meals communally in their section of eight men. A handled drinking cup (trulla) was essential gear, used like a ladle to dip into well buckets or streams. This cup (at front) is unusually ornate, showing a souvenir-like commemoration of Hadrian's Wall. Above a rampart decoration is inscribed the names of the five Wall forts: Bowness-on-Solway, Burgh-by-Sands, Stanwix, Castlesteads and Birdoswald. From a different cup, the handle is enamelled with once-colourful hares and hounds.

Copper alloy and enamel
Cup (replica): original from Wiltshire, England, about AD
130–40
British Museum, CRM 497 A

Handle: findspot unknown, AD 43–410
British Museum, 1994,0404.1

Personal possessions

In forts, each barrack block held a century – about 80 men – with the more spacious centurions' quarters at the end. It was probably difficult to keep track of personal possessions. Even everyday items such as eating and drinking vessels were individualised with specific decoration or were tagged, like this pewter cup (at back) scratched with its successive owners' names – Primus and Martini.

Pewter
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England
AD 85–410
Vindolanda Trust

Personal hygiene

This elaborate brooch is also a travel toilet set with tweezers, ear scoop and nail cleaners, to care for personal appearance and cleanliness on the move. Combs for head lice are commonly excavated from forts, particularly in soldiers' barracks, where close living spread lice. They are often personalised with decoration or even names – sharing was not a hygienic option. Roman doctors recommended close cropped hair during campaign to guard against infestation.

Brooch with toilet set: copper alloy and enamel
England, AD 100–300
British Museum, 1991,0701.1

Combs: wood
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England, AD 85–410
Vindolanda Trust

Prescriptions

As in camps, fort life involved close quarters living, so diseases could spread quickly. Records from Vindolanda fort on Hadrian's Wall suggest that contagious eye ailments were a common problem in the cramped barracks. Impressed into sticks of eye ointment, this stamp names two occulists (eye-doctors), Amandus and Valentinus, perhaps father and son, or brothers. Their wares include vinegar salve for running eyes, drops for dim sight, poppy salve and a mixture for clear sight.

Stone
Bedfordshire, England
AD 43–410
British Museum, 1882,0819.1

Luxury and enslavement

This tombstone (behind, at right) commemorates cavalryman Saturninus of the emperor' horse guards. A native of Pannonia (Hungary), he lived for 30 years and served for 11. His enslaved groom might be depicted twice – attending the master's table at top, and below tending his horse. Enslaved servants were an essential part of military life but were usually depicted as accessories to the display of wealth or ease of soldiers.

Marble
Rome, Italy
AD 100–200
British Museum 1896,0619.6

Abbas, an enslaved child

This is a sale contract between two marines for a seven-year-old Mesopotamian boy, Abbas (also given the Greek name Eutyches). Quintus Julius Priscus, a trumpeter who probably captured the boy on campaign, made the sale to Caius Fabullius Macer – a centurion's assistant – for 200 denarii (over a third of Macer's annual salary). Enslaved boys like Abbas could become a soldier's groom.

Papyrus
Faiyum, Egypt
AD 166
The British Library

Horrible Histories text:

Phew. I'm glad not to be camping for a bit. I managed to avoid getting killed in battle too.

The fort is great.

I've been shopping, playing games, relaxing at the baths with the other auxiliaries, and I've even met a lady rat: Rattusata. 

If we stop at a big enough fort – like the bases for those pampered legionaries – it might even have an amphitheatre. Who'd have fort it?

Did you know that us Romans play loads of games that people still play today? We're fans of hopscotch, hide-and-seek and even have swings and see-saws.

Why not relax in the safety of the fort and play a game? Who is the most competitive person you know?

Display to left of Horrible Histories activity, object labels left to right:
Special graphic:
Birthday party invite

Here, Sulpicia Lepidina is invited to Claudia Severa's birthday party. A scribe wrote the greater part of the letter. The highlighted text is in Severa's hand. It is the earliest woman's Latin handwriting known.

Text translated by Alan K. Bowman
© The Trustees of the British Museum

Written by the scribe:

Claudia Severa to her Lepidina greetings. On the third day before the Ides of September [11 September], sister, for the day of the celebration of my birthday, I give you a warm invitation to make sure that you come to us, to make the day more enjoyable for me by your arrival, if you are present.

Give my greetings to your Cerialis. My Aelius and my little son send their greetings.

Written by Claudia Severa:

I shall expect you sister. Farewell, sister my dearest soul, as I hope to prosper, and hail.

Written records

These thin wooden sheets with faded, handwritten ink, represent the voices of people living and working at Vindolanda fort 1,900 years ago. Claudia Severa issues an invitation to her birthday party to the matriarch of Vindolanda, Sulpicia Lepidina (1), who also discusses medicines with Paterna, a female apothecary (2). An inventory from the commander's residence includes necklace-locks, loincloths, headbands and colourful curtains (3). Administrative documents mention fort supplies held up in winter (4) and a troop strength report (5).

Wood
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England, about AD 100
British Museum, (1) 1986,1001.64; (2) 1986,1001.63;
(3) 1995,0701.196; (4) 1989,0602.74; (5) 1989,0602.21

There are more tablets from Vindolanda on display in Rooms 49 and 70

Horrible Histories text:

I've been invited to a toga party! Do you want to come?

This party invitation is from the Roman fort at Vindolanda. It's one of the oldest handwritten documents in Britain, and possibly the first example of women's handwriting in Britain too. Ink-redible!

Who's on your invite list? Apart from me of course.

An officer's wife

The Vindolanda letters of Claudia Severa remind us of the presence of noblewomen and children in forts. She invites her friend Lepidina to her birthday party and on a trip to the nearby town of Corbridge, and talks of her little boy. This tombstone has lost its inscription, but the woman is depicted in a genteel pose with an elegant fan, her young son playfully reaching for a pet bird on her lap. The woman was possibly an officer's wife, who lived in an official residence within the fort.

Stone
Carlisle, Cumbria, England
AD 75–410
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust

Special graphic:
Household list

This list of household goods is an inventory or item register for the residence of Flavius Cerialis, commander of the 9th cohort of Batavians (a Germanic tribe), who lived with his family at Vindolanda fort. Letters written by his wife, Sulpicia Lepidina, also survive. The highlighted text shows where the scribe crossed out the last line.

Text translated by Alan K. Bowman
© The Trustees of the British Museum

Left sheet:

Bags
number 10
⅝ denarius and 1 as each
total 6⅞ denarii

Bowls
number 4
5 denarii and 1 as each
total 20¼ denarii

Bowls
number 4
3⅞ denarii and 1 as each
total 15¾ denarii

Bowls
number 4
2⅝ denarii and 1 as each
total 10¾ denarii

Reins
number 2
3½ denarii each
total 7 denarii

Scarlet curtain
1, measuring 11½
total 54⅝ denarii

Greenish-yellow curtain
1, measuring 11½
total 46¾ denarii

Purple curtains
2, measuring 11½
total 99⅝ denarii

Curtain
1, measuring 10½
total 55⅛ denarii

Right sheet:

Necklace-locks
number 2
3⅝ denarii each
total 7¼ denarii

Cloaks
number 6
11½ denarii each
total 69 denarii

Headbands
number 5
¾ denarius each
total 3¾ denarii

Hair
9 pounds in weight
5¾ denarii per pound
total 51¾ denarii

Drawers
number 10
2½ denarii each
total 25 denarii

Saddle
number 1
12 denarii

Cloaks made of bark
number 15
3 denarii per measure
total 236+ denarii

The bottom entry 'Cloaks made of bark' has been crossed out.

Section panel, on left wall:
Enforcers of occupation

The Roman empire grew through its prodigious capacity to conquer and assimilate territory, making peoples subject to Roman law. About 300,000 troops acted as army, navy and police force to a state of over 60 million people. To maintain control, Roman retribution – meted out by the military – was unmitigatedly harsh. Beatings were common and could be lethal. Executions ranged from swift beheading to slow spectacles of suffering to entertain and intimidate. Swearing away their civilian rights on entering the service, dishonourable soldiers could face the same sanctions imposed on the population at large.

Unsurprisingly, Roman soldiers could be unpopular and their policing work hazardous. Terentianus was injured by rioters. Individual resistance sometimes scaled up to rebellion – the most successful even coaxed Roman soldiers into wholesale rejection of their imperial system.

Panel, on left wall:
Abusers

With limited numbers of soldiers policing a vast empire, military justice could be summary. Beatings were arbitrary, and criminals and rebels alike were routinely executed to discourage others. Troops in positions of power might exploit local populations or even their comrades, from moneylending and profiteering to scamming and swindling – Terentianus was a victim of theft by fellow soldiers and superiors. Such underhand treatment fed resentment and resistance – military rosters list soldiers 'slain by bandits'. However, troops who broke the rules were not outside the law, sometimes suffering similar fates to the peoples they controlled.

Object labels to right of panel, left to right:
Accusations against soldiers

Soldiers and imperial officials were regularly accused of wrongdoings. However, any legal redress might be a biased military enquiry by a bureaucrat of the sort that Roman satirist Juvenal described as a 'hobnailed judge'. Most sources are Roman and present their perspective, rather than the native accusers. This papyrus (1) is the oath of a village scribe, declaring he has no knowledge of extortion carried out by a soldier or his agents in his village.

1
Papyrus
Egypt
AD 37
The British Library

Tensions

Here (2) a beaten merchant complains and appeals for redress over rough justice: 'As befits an honest man, I implore you ... not to allow me, an innocent man, to have been beaten with [centurions'] rods...'. The matter had been taken over the head of an indifferent beneficiarius – an officer acting as community liaison. In another letter (3) Pabous complains to a beneficiarius about acts of violence and threats by Sempronius, a village elder.

2
Tablet: wood
Vindolanda fort, Northumberland, England, AD 100–20
British Museum, 1989,0602.73

3
Letter: papyrus
Egypt, AD 185 or 217
The British Library

Cheating the suppliers

Romans used vessels like this (4) to measure grain, which could be supplied by people in occupied territory as a form of taxation. The inscription says it holds 17.5 sextarii (about 0.54l), but it really holds 20.8 sextarii. Seemingly it was being used to swindle suppliers, who unwittingly filled it with extra grain. Officials skimming taxation infuriated local populations and could spark revolts. Emperor Domitian's name has been scratched out on the measure. His memory was condemned after his downfall in AD 96, and his name wiped from official records.

Copper alloy
Carvoran fort, Northumberland, England
AD 90–1
English Heritage, Carrawburgh Roman Fort / The Clayton Collection of Roman Antiquities

Horrible Histories text:

Nothing says 'like us' like cheating the locals, eh? It's a sneaky way to get more than you're owed to use a mean modius measurer that holds more grain than it should.

That's exactly what some Roman soldiers get up to. Swindling the locals out of grain and money.

It looks so official. I'd believe it, wouldn't you?

Murdered soldiers?

Two Roman soldiers, identified by their swords, military fittings and boot hobnails, were found hastily buried in Canterbury, England. One was a young adult, aged 20 to 34. The other was aged between 35 and 49 when he died. The bones offer no clue to their cause of death, but the haphazard burial suggests an illicit and violent end for both men, tumbled one atop the other without respect or dignity. Their swords were dumped on top, perhaps too incriminating for their attackers to steal.

Human bone
Canterbury, Kent, England
Late AD 100s
Canterbury Museums and Galleries

Image caption:

Illustration showing the soldiers' remains. They were tall and robust men between 176 and 180 cm in height.

© Canterbury Archaeological Trust

Murdered in the course of duty?

Canterbury was a strategic point on the road from the English Channel to London. The two men were possibly cavalrymen acting as stationarii – policing this important transport route. Recent scientific analysis of isotopes present in their bones and teeth has offered insight into their lives. The older soldier possibly grew up in the central Danube region (East Germany or Czechia). The diet of both men was typical of Roman soldiers, including wheat, barley, root vegetables, meat and dairy. Radiocarbon dating and the style of their long swords suggests that they served under the Antonine emperors, in the later AD 100s.

Iron, Canterbury, Kent, England, late AD 100s
Canterbury Museums and Galleries
Isotopic analyses conducted in collaboration with the Archaeology Department at Durham University

Monetising the condemned

In a time before civilian police services, Roman soldiers either enacted punishments or outsourced the work to contractors. Sometimes punishment became profitable entertainment. Authorities could sell condemned criminals (noxii) to the sponsors of amphitheatre games. Like major Roman towns, most large garrisons had their own amphitheatre, useful for training as well as grim spectacle. In this relief, four condemned men in loincloths are led in chains towards the beasts by two amphitheatre attendants wearing protective caps.

Marble
İzmir (ancient Smyrna), Turkey
About AD 200
The Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.
Bequeathed by John Seldon, 1654

Crucified

One of the most extreme execution practices in the Roman world was crucifixion. Such a prolonged and painful death was reserved for the enslaved and free non-citizens. These remains belong to an adult man who is the only probable crucifixion victim discovered in Roman Britain. One anklebone still holds the iron nail with which he was transfixed. Terentianus and other citizen-soldiers gave up their rights when they enlisted, making crucifixion for desertion
or cowardice an ever-present threat for troops.

Human bone and iron
Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire, England
AD 100–200
Cambridgeshire County Council Historic Environment Team

Image caption:

Beheadings were a common Roman punishment. This scene from Trajan's column shows soldiers displaying the severed heads of Rome's enemies to the emperor.

© National Museum of Romanian History

Panel on plinth opposite:

Rejecting the imperial system Revolts were a response to oppressive and exploitative Roman rule. Terentianus was involved in the suppression of a major rebellion by Rome's Jewish subjects. In AD 60 or 61, Queen Boudica of the Iceni tribe revolted in Britain, destroying Roman settlements and killing many Roman soldiers. Recruits from the provinces might also become disillusioned and reject the system of which they were part. Roman auxiliary cavalry commander Arminius had earlier succeeded where Boudica faltered. Joining forces with his native tribes, he destroyed three entire Roman legions in AD 9, forever halting the takeover of his Germanic homeland.

Object labels, right to left:
Horrible Histories text:

Uh oh, Boudica's on the warpath. This helmet is all that's left of more than one of my fellow rotten Roman soldiers. Boudica and her Iceni tribe whipped up a real revolt after she was whipped by the Romans. Well, what would you have done?

This 'frankenhelmet' is made up of lots of pieces of Roman helmets from the destroyed city of Colchester. It was put together by archaeologists.

Look closer – how many pieces can you see?

Image caption:

Riots and revolts were dangerous for soldiers. Terentianus was injured quelling rebellion in Alexandria, Egypt, probably the Jewish Revolt of AD 115–7. It had spread from neighbouring Cyrene (modern-day Libya), where this building inscription notes damage from the 'Jewish tumult'.

© Photograph by Klaus-Norbert, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Boudican revolt

In AD 60 or 61, Boudica's revolt in southeast England followed a period of relative calm after the Roman conquest. Her Iceni people razed Colchester, then the capital of Roman Britain and a settlement for retired soldiers. This helmet is made from pieces of Roman helmets found in the city's destruction debris, a reminder of the number of Roman soldiers killed in the attack. Boudica was only defeated after London and St. Albans suffered similar fates.

Iron
Colchester, Essex, England
About AD 60–1
On loan from Colchester and Ipswich Museums

Image caption:

Illustration of a small copper alloy figurine of a Roman captive, with neck and wrists bound together.

© Portable Antiquities Scheme. Drawing by Alan Cracknell

The battle of Teutoburg Forest, AD 9

This Roman shackle, used to bind prisoners, was found with the cuirass on the battlefield. Brought with the Roman invaders, it possibly restrained the doomed soldier in defeat. The wider end fitted around the captive's neck and the opposite end cuffed the wrists – probably tightly and painfully – in a fixed position, offering no means of escape. It could be worn forwards, or backwards for greater discomfort.

Iron
Kalkriese, Germany, AD 9
VARUSSCHLACHT im Osnabrücker Land gGmbh / Museum und Park Kalkriese

Image caption:

Marcus Caelius, a high-ranking centurion of the 18th legion, was killed when Arminius defeated Varus. The 17th and 19th legions were also destroyed. His servants, shown here, request that Caelius's bones be buried if ever found.

© LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn

Cavalry commander Arminius

A Roman citizen and cavalry commander of Germanic origin, Arminius treacherously teamed up with his native tribes in AD 9, to successfully ambush three legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus, the Roman governor of Germany. Varus and his entire army were destroyed. This, the world's most complete Roman legionary's articulated cuirass, was found on the battlefield.

Analysis suggests the soldier died wearing it. Arminius evaded Roman retribution, ridding his homeland of Roman rule, but was ultimately murdered by opponents within his own tribe.

Iron
Kalkriese, Germany, AD 9
VARUSSCHLACHT im Osnabrücker Land gGmbh / Museum und Park Kalkriese

Wall quote:

We are suppressing the uproar and anarchy of the city.

Audio quote:

Nor was any one of us able to pass the camp gate, there was so great a disturbance, in which I was wounded. You know that we are working hard now, in view of the fact that we are suppressing the uproar and anarchy of the city. We have found the transgressors of the laws...

Horrible Histories text:

It's not all fun, (board) games and parties in the Roman army you know.

And not everyone is pleased to see us coming. Sometimes things can get brutal.

If you locals fight back, like Boudica did, us soldiers might be ordered to take action.

They pay me to keep the peace. So I keep it. It can make us soldiers a bit unpopular – and so can some of our sneaky tactics.

Auxili-rats like me have to watch our backs.

Imagine you're a fresh-faced Roman soldier. How would you treat the locals?

Use our rot-o-meter to show everyone how nice (or rotten) you are (beware: this game was made by some right rotters).

Section panel, at left:
Leaving the army

For the perhaps fifty per cent of soldiers fortunate enough to survive illness and violence, the rewards of honourable discharge and social transformation awaited at the end of twenty-five years of service. Citizen-soldiers like Terentianus received a lucrative bonus upon retirement. For auxiliaries, it was a fundamental change of status – Roman citizenship – affording them rights and privileges in law, taxes and property. Such a soldier might traverse and defend a vast empire, but only through completion of service could he – and by extension his family – truly count as a citizen of Rome.

Eventually, social upgrades came before retirement. Emperor Septimius Severus (ruled AD 193–211) improved pay and rights for soldiers. His son Caracalla (ruled AD 198–217) extended universal citizenship to all unenslaved inhabitants of the Roman world. This radical change eroded the differences between legionaries and auxiliaries, and transformed the Roman empire.

Object labels, left to right:
Last will and testament

This is part of a legal tract on edicts concerning the inheritance rights of the heirs of Roman soldiers given by emperor Hadrian. Exceptionally in Roman society, soldiers were allowed to make wills during their father's lifetimes, and provide for even unofficial families posthumously. Terentianus could have provided for his concubine even in the face of family disapproval. 

Papyrus fragment of Ulpian's Ad edictum, book 45
Batn el-Harit (ancient Theadelpheia), Egypt, AD 213–50
The British Library

Soldiers become gentlemen

In his pursuit of military popularity, emperor Septimius Severus introduced new rewards and marital rights for Roman soldiers. Pay was multiplied, and ordinary troops were permitted the trappings of Roman gentlemen such as fine clothes and gold jewellery. Set with a gold coin of Severus, this man-sized ring (1) is a show of wealth as well as loyalty. The keeper of the armoury of the 22nd legion, based in Mainz, Germany, owned this impressive example (2). Depicting the Roman goddess Minerva, this exceptionally large ring (3) was worn by an optio (centurion's assistant) of the 1st legion.

1
Gold, Rome, Italy
AD 193–211
British Museum, 1865,0712.57

2
Gold, River Rhine between
Kostheim and Kastel, Germany
AD 150–250
Private Collection UK

3
Gold, Cologne, Germany
AD 150–250
LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn

Universal citizenship

In AD 212, emperor Caracalla passed an edict granting all free inhabitants of the empire immediate and full Roman citizenship – a bid for political popularity alongside his military pay rise. This was also perhaps to widen the recruitment pool for legionaries, and by spreading taxes previously levied on non-citizens to all, to increase state revenue. Caracalla is depicted here in cuirass and cloak. Every inch the military ruler, his close-cropped hair and belligerent expression set the pattern for the succeeding age of soldier-emperors.

Marble
Rome, Italy
AD 215–7
British Museum, 1805,0703.102

Image caption:

This papyrus fragment is the only copy of Caracalla's edict that still exists in the original wording, a Greek translation of the decree's original Latin text. A landmark for civil rights, it is listed as a UNESCO world heritage document.

© Giessen University Library, P.Giss. 40

A soldier leaves this world

Estimates suggest half of Roman soldiers died in service before reaching retirement, probably as much due to natural causes as battle. This poignant tombstone seemingly shows a soldier named Ares beside his veteran father, also called Ares. Stood at right wearing a toga, the elder Ares receives back the arms – including legionary shield – which he had given to his son, who died aged 29. The inscription notes: '...he went on to another world that is no world, where there is nothing else except darkness.'

Marble
Alexandria, Egypt
AD 160–90
British Museum, 1973,0422.1

Horrible Histories text:

Like soldier father, like soldier son. Except this poor legionary didn't make it. Not like me.

I survived. And I'm a Roman citizen now. A free rat wherever I go in this empire.

If anyone attacks me, they attack all Romans. Even better, my reward passes to my family – Rattusata and the mini-rats are Roman citizens now too. If Terrattus Jr follows in my footsteps he can be a legionary.

Life savings

Soldiers were encouraged to bank savings, not least to discourage desertion, since such an act meant abandoning hard-earned pay. Even without the end-of-service cash reward bestowed upon legionaries, auxiliary soldiers could save up in preparation for their retirement. This papyrus (1) records the purchase of prime land reserved for Roman citizens in Egypt by an auxiliary veteran named Marcus Julius Valerianus, in a transaction enabled by his new citizen status.

1
Papyrus
Al-Bahnasa (ancient Oxyrhynchus), Egypt
AD 100–200
The British Library

Honourable retirement

Most Roman soldiers were required to serve 25 years. When retirement arrived, the cherished reward of citizenship was bestowed in the form of a double-leaved tablet (diploma), signed by seven witnesses, and sealed. This diploma (2) confirms the formal discharge from the Egyptian-based fleet of a rower, Marcus Papirius, after 26 years' service – marines and their shipmates served an extra year. Even lowly galley-rowers were afforded the status – and rewards – of soldiers. Papirius's wife Tapaea and their son Carpinius became citizens too.

2
Bronze
Egypt, 8 September AD 79
British Museum, 1923,0116.1

Cherished citizenship

Citizenship gave retired soldiers the full rights and privileges of Romans throughout the empire, with respect to laws, taxation, property and governance. This diploma (3) was awarded to auxiliary cavalryman Gemellus from Pannonia (Hungary), following 25 years' service. It extended citizenship to one wife only, to deter polygamy, and their children. His retirement was conferred in Britain during Hadrian's visit in AD 122 – perhaps in the presence of the emperor himself.

3
Bronze
Ó-Szőny, Hungary, 17 July AD 122
British Museum, 1930,0419.1

Horrible Histories text:

At last. I'm out!

Twenty-five years of boredom, battles and brutality. The only way to leave the army with honour was to be medically discharged. No one believed me when I said I'd hurt my tail though.

And what's my prize? Roman citizenship for an auxiliary like me, of course.

I wouldn't say no to a big bag of cash like the legionaries, but I never did manage to sneak my way into their club. At least now I'm a proper Roman like them.

The Roman world is my oyster. 

All things considered, what would you rather be? Legionary or auxiliary? Would you prefer gold or citizenship?

Make your choice then drop a counter to find out your fate (spoiler: only about 50% of soldiers survive). Good luck!

Wall quote:

Terentianus ... a man of means.

Display case, object labels left to right:
A man of means

In a letter of introduction for purchasing land, Terentianus, who entered the service as a lowly marine before progressing to become a soldier of the legion, is described as a 'man of means'. As a citizen-soldier he was entitled at retirement to a cash reward equivalent to 10 years' pay, some 120 gold coins (aurei). This hoard comprises 126 aurei, approximately 10.5 years wages.

Gold and ceramic
Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, AD 160–9
Purchase supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, British Museum Friends and The Goldsmiths' Company Charity
British Museum, 1996,0316.1

Image caption:

A soldier takes his leave from the emperor, departing with a full sack. The reward is not clear, but it could be his retirement lump sum, military decorations or a share of booty.

© National Museum of Romanian History

Other side of display case:

Marcus Syrus, citizen of Rome Marcus Syrus, originally from Jerash, Jordan, retired in AD 71 after serving 26 years as a marine at Misenum, Italy. He was granted citizenship after honourable discharge by emperor Vespasian. This diploma was recovered from Syrus' workshop-residence in Pompeii, kept safe in his bedside alcove. Without the benefit of a cash reward, he evidently retired into a civilian trade, living and working in Italy, half a world away from Jerash – a Roman citizen transformed by his military service.

Bronze
Pompeii, Italy
AD 71
MiC – Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

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Events

Learn more about life in the Roman army through a programme of events, including talks and lectures from leading experts, and a range of family activities. To find out more, visit britishmuseum.org/legion

Related galleries

Roman Britain (Room 49), The Weston Gallery
Roman Empire (Room 70), The Wolfson Gallery

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Supported by

Graham and Joanna Barker
Hugh and Catherine Stevenson
Christian Levett

The Trustees of the British Museum also wish to thank the following for their generous support and assistance in the creation of the exhibition

Augmentum for supporting the scientific research and conservation of the Vindolanda tablets

Albion Archaeology
Historic Environment Scotland
Owen Humphreys, MOLA

Lenders

Alan Wilkins
Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort
Cambridgeshire County Council
Carlisle Cricket Club
Colchester and Ipswich Museums
English Heritage, Carrawburgh Roman Fort / The Clayton Collection of Roman Antiquities
English Heritage, Corbridge Roman Site
Epping Forest District Museum
GDKE – Directorate Landesmuseum Mainz
GDKE – Direktion Landesarchäologie Außenstelle Koblenz
Great North Museum: Hancock
Lugdunum – Musée & théâtres romains, métropole de Lyon, France LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn
Ministero della Cultura – Parco Archeologico di Ercolano
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli
National Museums Scotland
Private Collection
Private Collection UK
The Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The British Library
The Hunterian, University of Glasgow
The Provost and Fellows of Eton College
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust
VARUSSCHLACHT im Osnabrücker Land gGmbh / Museum und Park Kalkriese
Vindolanda Trust
Yale University Art Gallery
York Museums Trust (Yorkshire Museum)

All exhibition services unless otherwise credited
British Museum

Exhibition design
Drinkall Dean

Graphic design
Matt Bigg / Surface 3 Ltd

Digital media design
AY-PE

Digital media hardware
Pixel Artworks

Lighting design
DHA Design

Construction
Setworks Ltd

Graphic production
Displayways
OMNI

Cost management and CDM advice
Greenway Associates

Fine art transport
Constantine Ltd

Object mounts
British Museum
Richard Rogers Conservation

Horrible Histories® is a registered trademark of Scholastic Inc and is used under authorisation. All rights reserved. Written by Terry Deary. Illustrations © Martin Brown.

Terentianus scenes
Translations of Terentianus's letters were originally published in H.C. Youtie and J.G. Winter (eds),
Papyri and Ostraca from Karanis, Michigan
Papyri VIII (Ann Arbor, 1951)
Illustrations by Rosey Taylor
Audio by AY-PE

Ranks and pay graphic
lunstream / Alamy Stock Photo
Rudzhan Nagiev
Silhouette art by Andrew Brozyna
Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

Bar Hill fort reconstruction
Historic Environment Scotland. 3D assets created jointly by Historic Environment Scotland and The Glasgow School of Art.

Translations
A.K. Bowman and D.J. Thomas (eds), The Vindolanda Writing Tablets (Tabulae Vindolandenses II) (BMP, London, 1994)

A.K. Bowman, Life and letters on the Roman Frontier: Vindolanda and its people (BMP, London, 1994; 2nd ed. 2003)

A. Cameron, E. Hartley and J. Hawkes (eds), Constantine the Great: York's Roman Emperor (York Museums Trust, 2006)

R.O. Fink, Hunt's Pridianum: British Museum Papyrus 2851, in The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol 48 (1958), pp 102–16

Hans Georg Gundel, Antiker Kaufvertrag auf einer Wachstafel aus Ravenna, Gießen, 1960 (Kurzberichte aus den Giessener Papyrussammlungen, 10), p4

Juvenal, The Satires, Translated by W. Barr and N. Rudd (Oxford University Press, 1992)

F.N. Pryce and A.H. Smith (eds), Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum (BMP, London, 1892–1928)

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (about 4 BC – AD 65), Ad Lucilium epistulae morales: with an English translation by R.M. Gummere (Ann Arbor, 2006)

Tacitus, Histories: Books 4–5. Annals: Books 1–3, Translated by C.H. Moore and J. Jackson (Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 1931)

geb.uni-giessen.de/geb/volltexte/2013/10432/
romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/2265
romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/2425.2
romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/2426.1

This exhibition has been made possible as a result of the Government Indemnity Scheme. The British Museum would like to thank HM Government for providing Government Indemnity and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and Arts Council England for arranging the indemnity.

As part of the Museum's efforts to lessen its environmental impact, materials, fittings and equipment are reused where possible. The Museum aims to make its exhibitions as sustainable as possible, sharing best practice, resources and the latest innovations with other museums and galleries.

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